Jase,

Your desire to further your education is commendable and there's nothing at all there for you to be ashamed of in your experiences of outside forces having made it difficult for you to continue your education in the past.

It is to your credit that you have found work in this time and been able to establish some stability in your life.

I do not think that there will be too many of your age on the forum or even older people who have had similar experiences, but to get that education under your belt, there's a number of issues to be addressed

. Do you have to keep working to support yourself?
. If so, is it possible to do sufficient part-time work without overloading yourself?

It is natural that you will feel conscious of being older than others in a class in going back to school after a break, but do not let that deter you.

Is it possible to minimise that by even seeking to get a late start this year?
That may be possible depending onwhat stage you got to at year 9.

I would be going along to a school and seeking an appointment with the principal or student counsellor to see what could be worked out.

The other way of approaching it and it will still be a hard slog is to find out whether there are any alternate night classes but for years 9 up to 11 I would doubt it and it would be a longer slog.

But the best place to get advice on the matter will be a school and if you do not get a good hearing at one, then try another but with a genuine desire to learn I'd expect that you will get a reasonable hearing.

"Just Do It" I used to see on a few Tshirts, and no better time than now to make a move.

Come back and let us know how you fare or to get some further ideas.

Good Luck