A pensioner and a mother of nine-year-old twins were just two of the graduates honoured at this year's Open University in Ireland degree ceremony.

Robert Kilpatrick (76), a retired teacher from Belfast, earned first class honours in maths, while Magherafelt mother Anne Smith-Collins graduated in childhood and youth studies.

The mature students have spent an average of six years balancing the demands of their studies, work and other commitments to achieve academic success.

They joined nearly 150 others to receive their degree certificates at a prestigious graduation ceremony in the Waterfront Hall in Belfast.

Ms Smith-Collins, a part-time classroom assistant, said taking on an Open University degree had given her the confidence to consider further studies.

"I never even thought that I would eventually end up completing an honours degree," she said. "The studying was hard work, but as each course finished I became addicted and started thinking what course I would do next.

"Now that I have obtained my degree, I am pursuing my next challenge, which is completing the Great Wall of China Trek in aid of children's charity Barnardo's."

Mr Kilpatrick, who started his degree in 2003, said his BSc in maths had been a "mental gym" after he retired from teaching in 1989.

"I started with the OU in 1971, when the OU itself started," he said. "The degree I achieved in 1974 enabled me to join a grammar school as a maths teacher, where I rose to head the department six years later."

There are currently more than 4,200 Open University students in Northern Ireland, studying degree courses from sports science to literature and geography to computing.

This year's ceremony was attended by Owen Paterson, Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, who congratulated the 147 students on their degrees.

Among the new graduates were two students who were awarded special titles in recognition of their hard work.

Mary Hinds, director of nursing at the Public Health Agency, received the honorary degree of Doctor of the Open University for her dedication to the nursing profession. Mary, who started her career in Belfast's Mater Hospital, said she was "humbled" to receive the award. "I remember my heart's desire when I started - way back in 1978 - I wanted to be a nurse, to have the ability to help people, to care, to treat, to cure and heal," she said.

"I was going to save the world and everyone in it - and then I got that uniform and that job and it was a bit harder than I thought."

Meanwhile, student Michael Burns received the Sir John Daniel prize, recognising the highest overall grade in the university for his BSc Hons in IT and computing.

John D'Arcy, director of the Open University in Ireland, said the degree ceremony had been a "special occasion".

"At a time when university education is becoming more expensive, the Open University remains the obvious choice for students who want to minimise student debt and continue to earn while they study," he added.

Open University Graduates

Doctorate in Education

Annelies Taylor

Master of Arts in Education

Hazel Kealey

Master of Arts in Education (Equality and Diversity)

Svetlana Tchaikovskaya

Master of Arts in Education (Leadership & Management)

Roger Trigg

Master of Arts in Humanities

James Robert Clark

Master of Arts, Social Sciences

Joanne Clifford

Kenneth William Johnston

Master of Business Administration (Merit)

David Buggie

Master, Business Administration

Ann Barrett

Susan Carroll

Desta Yakob Endrias

Colm Vincent Hughes

Fintan McAliskey

Michael Smyth

Yemane Tesfay Weldeabzgi

Master of Education

Charis Jill Cairns

Glynis McCune

Angeline Ruddy

Master of Education (Leadership and Management)

Catherine Cecil

Brendan McGinn

Brenda Patricia McGrann

Oliver Sloan

Master of Science in Forensic Psychology & Criminology

Gerard Huddleston

Carolyn Marie McIntyre

Master of Science in Human Resource Management

Andrew John Galloway

Master of Science, Mathematics

Edwin O’Sullivan

Master of Science in Psychology

Anne Gaffney

Karen Martina Hughes

Master of Science in Science (Merit)

Peter Lawrence Canning

Master of Science in Science

Joanne Brolly

Karen Mallon

Master of Science in Science and Society (Merit)

Mark Armstrong

Bachelor of Arts in Childhood and Youth Studies

Upper Second-class Honours

Gillian Greenaway

Lower Second-class Honours

Caroline Morelli

Anne Louise Smith-Collins

Bachelor of Arts in English Language and Literature

Lower Second-class Honours

William J Fletcher

Bachelor of Arts in English Literature (Third-class Honours)

Joseph Palmer

Bachelor of Arts in History

First-class Honours

David Gibson

Lower Second-class Honours

Ronald Michael Carson

Dominick Anthony Hartney

Bachelor of Arts in Humanities with Art History

Upper Second-class Honours

Stephen Lewis

Bachelor of Arts in Humanities with Art History and Literature

Lower Second-class Honours

Teresa Butler

Sharon Stevens

Bachelor of Arts in Humanities with Art History and Music

Upper Second-class Honours

Seamas Jude O’Labhradha

Bachelor of Arts in Humanities with Creative Writing and Art History

First-class Honours

Siobhan Scully

Bachelor of Arts in Humanities with History

Upper Second-class Honours

Lesley Ann Watkins

Lower Second-class Honours

Lynette Sarah Agnew

Raymond Boal

Bachelor of Arts in Humanities with Literature

Upper Second-class Honours

Beverley Vann

Bachelor of Arts in Humanities with Music

Upper Second-class Honours

Mervyn Daniel James Wilson

Lower Second-class Honours

Pamela Rosemary Van Wyk

Bachelor of Arts in Literature

Upper Second-class Honours

John Rowe

Janet Margaret Thompson

Bachelor of Arts Open

First-class Honours

Roisin Keatings

Upper Second-class Honours

Geraldine Harriett Gracie

Jonathan McGibbon

David Speer

Trevor Hugh Wilson

Lower Second-class Honours

Sara Cully

Third-class Honours

Clare Peoples

Elene Patricia Stewart

Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy and Psychological Studies

Lower Second-class Honours

Gianfranco Campalani

Bachelor of Arts in Social Work (England)

Upper Second-class Honours

Claire Elizabeth Evans

Bachelor of Engineering

First-class Honours

Paul Doherty

Lower Second-class Honours

Elodie Ducloux

John Meagher

Upper Second-class Honours

Brian Hegarty

Bachelor of Laws

First-class Honours

Annette Holden

Andrew Minnis

Upper Second-class Honours

Celine Clarkin

Mairead Forde

Lower Second-class Honours

Mark Christopher Sheridan

Third-class Honours

Katie Smyth

Bachelor of Science, Computing

Upper Second-class Honours

Siobhan B Leneghan

Bachelor of Science in Environmental Studies

Third-class Honours

Pamela O'Neill

Bachelor of Science in Health and Social Care

Upper Second-class Honours

Helen Gibson

Bernadette McGilligan

Carolyn Jayne Moldrik

Lower Second-class Honours

Janine Caldwell

Third-class Honours

Claire Hossick

Bachelor of Science in Health Studies

Lower Second-class Honours

Elaine Hill

Bachelor of Science in Information Technology and Computing

First-class Honours

Michael Burns

Bachelor of Science in International Studies

Upper Second-class Honours

Wendy Ann Hinds-Anagbogu

Gary Jones

Bachelor of Science, Life Sciences

Upper Second-class Honours

Naomi Magowan

Roisin Trainor

Bachelor of Science in Mathematics

First-class Honours

Padraig Seamus Connolly

Upper Second-class Honours

Sinead Deirdre Clements

Lower Second-class Honours

Peter Boyd

Bachelor of Science Open

First-class Honours

Robert Simpson Kilpatrick

Upper Second-class Honours

Kelly Lauren Duke

Ryan Simpson

Lower Second-class Honours

Mary Jane Kelly

Third-class Honours

Brian Boyle

Bachelor of Science, Psychology First-class Honours

Maighread Gough

Upper Second-class Honours

Donna Broderick

Patricia Drake

Robert Stephen Walsh

Lower Second-class Honours

Joseph Hughes

Philip William McCullagh

Sharon McKinney

Alison Eva Quigley

Deirdre Thompson

Third-class Honours

Stephen Joseph Shaw

Bachelor of Science in Social Sciences (Lower Second-class Hons)

Margaret Yvonne Curtis

Robert Millar Watterson

Bachelor of Science in Social |Sciences with Geography

First-class Honours

Jeannie Hughes

Bachelor of Science in Social Sciences with Politics

Lower Second-class Honours

Aidan McCabe

Bachelor of Science in Social Sciences with Social Policy and Geography

Upper Second-class Honours

Winston Donnell

Bachelor of Science in Social Sciences with Sociology

Upper Second-class Honours

Elaine Kernohan

Bachelor of Science in Social Sciences with Sociology and Economics

Upper Second-class Honours

Richard John Young

Bachelor of Science, Technology

First-class Honours

David Wright

Upper Second-class Honours

Nicola Hobson

Bachelor of Arts in Early Years

Julie Williams

Bachelor of Arts Open

Margaret Rose Donovan

Barbara Finigan

Rachael Anna Laforge

Monica Marshall

Ruth Scott

Anja Ward

Carole Ann Williamson

Bachelor of Science Open

Stephen Aitken

Michelle Carleton

John Michael Connolly

Carson James JIM Creighton

Darren Dines

Joanne Farrell

Olivia Hughes

Rebecca Charlotte Johnston

Sarah Frances Macleod

Samantha McKee

Sharon Taylor

Elaine Walsh

Foundation Degree, Information and Communication Technologies

George Joseph Walsh

Professional Graduate Certificate in Education

Louise Margaret McLaughlin

Ross Edmund Corrigan