STUDY IN THE BACK OF A HELICOPTER

DURING a tour of duty in afghanistan, 47-year-old simon Rollo-Gunn, a recruitment manager for the army Reserve, learnt first-hand just how important a knowledge of the local language can be.

‘On one occasion we received a phone call from someone speaking in Pashto and warning us of an imminent attack on British troops,’ he explains.

‘Luckily, I had studied Pashto with the Military Language school back in the UK and was able to translate, which saved not only the lives of our troops but also those of anyone else who might have been caught in the crossfire.’

He says it was one of many experiences that incentivised him when he began his OU studies for a Ba in Modern Language studies (French and spanish) in 2009.

His job meant that he did his coursework in some unusual location. ‘Frontline afghanistan, the back of helicopters . . . you name it, I’ve been there,’ he says.

‘afghanistan was a particularly surprising place to find yourself studying French and spanish, but it came in useful because it was a multinational effort out there, and I ended up using them quite a lot.

‘I got a real kick out of juggling all the languages. and as the British military shrinks, and we become more dependent on our Nato partners, languages will be more important than ever.’

His own language skills were all the more surprising to him because at his scottish boarding school he was never regarded as particularly academic.

‘sport was more my thing,’ he says. Like many military personnel, his decision to do a degree was made with a firm eye on the future.

‘The grand scheme is eventually to get into teaching,’ he says. ‘and the OU degree was such a great way of being able to chip away at the studies, juggling family life and work.’

simon completed ‘the long old haul’ of his studies last year.

‘during the time that I was studying we moved three times in the UK, we had a baby, and I did two six-month tours of duty in afghanistan.

‘It was a big emotional burden on the whole family. It felt really good to get out there finally and graduate.’

as he nears the end of his time in the army, simon believes his prospects are promising. ‘I have a couple of opportunities with an interpreting firm in scotland.

‘I came late to the academic side of life, and the beauty of the OU is that it gives you a second chance, and it has a knock-on effect.

‘as someone in their 40s, I can enthuse younger soldiers about what I’ve learned, and encourage them to take on a second language, and all that is thanks to the OU.’