Master's degree students over the age of 60 will receive a £4,000 bursary under a new Welsh Government scheme.

The aim is to make higher education more accessible and attract graduates to remain in or return to Wales, with officials providing £1.3m of funding.

To be eligible, people must be a resident of Wales and studying at a Welsh University.

The bursaries - welcomed by the National Union of Students (NUS) - are available in the 2019-20 academic year.

A £2,000 bursary is also available for students of all ages completing a master's degree in science, technology, engineering, mathematics or medicine, alongside a £1,000 bursary towards master's studied through the medium of Welsh.

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According to Student Finance Wales, those over 60 are not eligible for a postgraduate loan.

The government said the Higher Education Funding Council for Wales would manage the numbers of students and funding.

'Life-changing experience'

Patti Webber was 73 when she graduated with a master's in creative writing from Swansea University.

The former special needs advisory teacher from Cadoxton, Neath, funded the three-year course herself, spending about £4,800, and has now self-published 17 stories.

Ms Webber said: "Wales needs its writers. We all come from very different points of the compass."

Her husband died 11 years ago, and she said she lived a solitary life, but her course showed her "you can be alone, writing, but not be isolated".

"You are caught up in something that satisfies your need for exercising a skill. What it prevents me doing is slumping and that's very easy when you are bereaved."

She would like to do a doctorate, but said she was not comfortable with the cost.

Ms Webber, now 74, said she would like to see more funding for younger people, but the older generation may have spent their money on their children's education.

"I'm so pleased to think that somebody who maybe has grandchildren and children may now be able to do the course without any sense of guilt," she said.

Describing education, Ms Webber said: "You're becoming better. You can do far more if you allow it. It's a life-changing experience."

'Education should be available for all'

Michael Hargreaves, who lives in Menai Bridge, Anglesey, studied some master's modules in education studies at Bangor University from 2015 to 2017.

The 73-year-old funded his own studies, but said in general he believes "education should be available to people of any age who want it".

Mr Hargreaves now works for the university's dyslexia assessment service, and also does one-to-one teaching.

As well as finding the course interesting, he also met a new group of people of different ages.

"I believe that the quest for knowledge and understanding is - or should be - a life-long process and formal education is one way to progress the quest," Mr Hargreaves said.

Education Minister Kirsty Williams said postgraduate study "should be an option available to every graduate in Wales, no matter your age".

"This brings benefits to individuals through their career or personal development, as well as benefitting our economy and wider society," she added.

Rob Simkins, president of NUS Wales, said: "We especially welcome the attention being paid to mature students and Welsh-speaking students.

"However, there is more that can be done across the entire sector, including by government and universities, to ensure that all students who are capable of studying at postgraduate level are able to."

Plaid Cymru said it supports widening access to education "to as many people as possible" but would "wait for more detail from universities and the Welsh Government on how they plan to deliver this policy".

BBC.COM