As one of the world's best-known writers, Anne Fine has won an OBE, seen her work made into a Hollywood film and won numerous writing awards. But the author of Madam Doubtfire has never forgotten the debt she owes to her parents in the North-East for making sure she got the education they never had. Now Mrs Fine, who lives in Barnard Castle, County Durham, will be re-paying that debt by recognising the success of a new generation of adult learners who, like her parents, overcame barriers to improve themselves. Next Thursday she will present awards at the County Durham Adult Learners' Awards, where 54 people will receive certificates in recognition of their success. She said: "I'm a great believer that it's never too late to start - my parents both left school early and are exactly the kind of people who would have benefited from learning in adult life. "I am very supportive of other people who take up learning and those who encourage them, because of the efforts my own parents made for me. "I've benefited all my life from the enormous sacrifices they made to make sure I got a good education. "I greatly admire those who take the step to improve themselves. The least I can do is congratulate them. "I will be proud to shake their hands at the awards." Mrs Fine, 56, has written more than 40 children's books and was the Children's Laureate between 2001 and 2003. She has twice won the Carnegie Medal, Britain's most coveted children's literature award, and has also won the Guardian Children's Literature Award and the Whitbread Children's Novel Award. Next Thursday she will be at the Riverside cricket ground in Chester-le-Street to present awards to adult learners and leading adult education tutors from County Durham. All of the award winners have taken part in free courses on offer in County Durham - ranging from maths, English and computer skills to non-academic subjects such as cookery and painting. Some of these courses also include skills for life, which is the ability to read, write, speak and use a computer to a level which allows the individual to function in society and everyday life. Development manager of County Durham Lifelong Learning Partnership Jeanette Trafford said: "People who aren't necessarily into books and reading or haven't thought about taking up learning before will have heard of Anne's work and be able to relate to it. "As any one of the learners receiving awards will testify, people who take the first step towards improving themselves find their self esteem grows along with their knowledge. "And often they don't want to stop at just doing one course." | 
Northumberland
