MUM Sue Smith has just obtained an Open University psychology degree after six years juggling her studies and caring for her children, while also developing a new business.

Mrs Smith, 37, of Frogwell Park, Chippenham, who has three children, William ten, Edward, eight and four-year-old Helena, used to work in personnel management and was always interested in the way people behaved.

"I wanted to do something interesting whilst I was looking after the children," she said.

"I was interested in the development of people because of my personnel background."

She took up the psychology degree and, with support from her husband Jim, was able to bring up her children while studying.

During her studies for her degree Mrs Smith developed her own ideas on the psychology of learning.

She has now set up a business called The Learning Tree which aims to understand and develop children's and parents' learning skills.

"It just sort of evolved through my study and then I started to look for funding and it grew alongside my study,"Mrs Smith said.

The Learning Tree recognises that children learn in many different ways.

"Some children are good at listening and learning that way," she said.

"Others learn through visual aids and others learn through actually doing things."

She worked with staff at St Peter's Primary School, in Chippenham, which her children attend, and her ideas have been taken up by the education authority and are to be promoted to other schools.

Through The Learning Tree Mrs Smith, whose personnel work was in engineering companies, has set up a junior engineering club at St Peter's School where many children are able to learn about engineering through hands-on workshops.

"I try to promote to adults that learning is a lifelong thing," she said.

"Adults can continue to learn throughout their life and use local colleges."