'Best student in the class' Greek man in his 80s back at school after life of toil

Everything I learn is interesting," says Vasillis Panayiotaropoulos. "Being here opens the mind." It's 7.45pm. The bell has rung and the world of classical Greece beckons for the pensioner, who has neatly laid out his pencil case and books.

- Helena Smith

Everything I learn is interesting," says Vasillis Panayiotaropoulos. "Being here opens the mind." It's 7.45pm. The bell has rung and the world of classical Greece beckons for the pensioner, who has neatly laid out his pencil case and books. In his suit and polished loafers, he is by far the oldest pupil at the school in Athens. Many classmates are the age of his grandchildren.

Nearly 70 years have passed since the octogenarian was last at school. "I left at the age of 12 to help my father in the fields," he said, recalling his childhood in the Peloponnese. "But I've always had a yearning to go back. It's a desire that's never gone away."