'It's never too late' - entrepreneur who left school with no qualifications becomes professor at 70

ITV Border's Fiona Marley Paterson went to meet Professor Gordon

An entrepreneur from Kendal has been made a professor at the age of 70.

Ian Gordon left school with no qualifications, but says it's never too late to complete a degree.

He got a PhD in his 60s and now supports other entrepreneurs and small businesses at Lancaster University.

Professor Gordon said: "I grew up in Edinburgh and I remember walking across an area called The Meadows which looks up at the beautiful buildings at Edinburgh University.

"I remember looking at these buildings and saying well - that's a building I'll never go in - that's somewhere I'll never be because I left school with no qualifications."

Ian became a radio officer in the merchant navy and then went on to become an entrepreneur in the Lake District.

He said he decided to compelte a Masters in Buisiness Administration (MBA) to help with his own business, which he continued to run alongside the course.

He said it was his own "inferiority complex" which motivated him to take the qualification."I was embarrassed - I was going to go into some meeting and somebody would use some particular word and I wouldn't know what it was and everybody would laugh and point at me going, well, you're just a radio officer from the Merchant Navy - aren't you, the guy that left school with no qualifications.

"So that's why - the trigger for me was my own inferiority complex.

"Of course, there isn't any such magic language, but what the MBA gave me was a toolbox that sat at the side of me that helped me make decisions about strategy and about people."

After completing his MBA, Ian became Lancaster University's first entrepreneur in residence.

He said: "Sounds like a cliché but you can do anything you want to do.

"I wouldn't advise everyone to leave it as late as that, but in some ways I think I'm something of a testament to if you don't do everything straight away, it doesn't matter."

Want a quick and expert briefing on the biggest news stories? Listen to our latest podcasts to find out What You Need To Know...