Baroness Boothroyd, our guest editor, has had an extremely successful career. But she did so without the advantage of a university education. As a result she was very proud to be invited to become Chancellor of The Open University, a post she held from 1994 to 2006. This year the university celebrated its 40th year of teaching and the BBC's Sarah Montague spoke to one of its earliest pupils Ann Lawrence. She started in the Open University's first year 1971 when she was 32. They were also joined in their conversation by a more recent graduate Andrew Bray, who is a Lieutenant in the Royal Navy.

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