SINGLE mum and former councillor Kathleen Gilgallon has graduated from the Open University.

Kathleen, of Queen Street, Padiham, hopes her knowledge will help guide her 14-year-old son Philip through his GCSEs next year.

The health visitor said: "I was living on my own, bringing my son up, baby-sitters were hard to get and I wanted something to get my grey matter working again.

"Philip has been very encouraging and has even attended some of the tutorials with me. The Open University staff were very supportive and didn't mind Philip attending."

Kathleen, 43, a former Liberal Democrat councillor on Burnley Council, studied social sciences and politics to gain her BSc.

She worked evenings and weekends and thanked her family and her partner Peter for their support over the years.

She said: "If anyone is thinking about doing an Open University course I would say go for it. It's hard work, but very interesting and you learn such a lot."

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