Children and teachers are not the only ones preparing to return to school next month.

An increasing number of adults are weighing the pros and cons and deciding to return to the books to better themselves.

Sabrina Trott, an administrative assistant, recently gave up the security of her job and the comfort of her family and friends to return to school in the US.

"I'm nervous about going back to school but I'm looking forward to it. I'm ready for it. I think it's the best time in my life to go because I'm settled.'' The 33-year-old mother-of-one has enrolled at Kennesaw State University, Georgia, near Atlanta. She plans to devote the next seven or eight years of her life to obtaining Bachelor's and Master's degrees in hopes of becoming a health professional.

"I'm not sure what I want to do -- perhaps occupational or physiotherapy or pathology.'' After years of debating whether to return to school, Ms Trott said one day she finally resolved to take the plunge.

"I always wanted to do it and one day I was sitting at my desk thinking,'' she explained. "I knew that the time was coming near for me to make a decision. It was now or never.'' Once her decision to return to books, exams and term papers was made, she admitted that she often second-guessed herself.

"I went back and forth on this issue,'' she recalled. "`But once I put in my notice to work I knew that I had no choice but to go.'' And Ms Trott said that the financial aspects of returning to school, like having no steady income, put an additional strain on her already jittery nerves.

"I have been working for 12 years and was comfortable,'' she admitted. "When I resigned it was like someone had pulled the rug out from under me. My security blanket was gone.

"When you're used to having money coming in it's nerve racking. I now have to be on a fixed income and budget. It concerns me quite a bit. But it is a short-term sacrifice.'' Ms Trott's pursuit of higher education will also have an impact on her 12-year-old son -- Reid.

"He's happy for me and next year he'll be moving out there with me. I didn't want to take him with me this year because I don't know anything about the area or even what school I should enrol him in.

"I'm going someplace where I don't have anyone, no family or friends. This is new for me.'' Despite her anxieties about finances, school and her son, Ms Trott said she was looking forward to hitting the books.

"I've been out of the classroom environment for a while so I'm looking forward, at least initially, to getting involved in my studies.'' For those who are contemplating returning to the hallowed halls of academia, Ms Trott suggested they pursue their educational goals.

"If it's a dream of yours and it's something that you've always wanted but have always put it off, no matter how old you get you'll still have that dream so it's sometimes best to just do it.'' Cricketer Clay Smith headed off to Anderson College in South Carolina last week to pursue his life-long dream.

The 27-year-old father, who already possesses an associate degree, plans to obtain a degree in Physical Education which will enable him to teach.

The St. George's Cup Match star said his children were the catalyst behind his decision to bite the bullet and go abroad to school.

"Two things made me go now,'' he explained. "Having kids and now just seemed the right time to go. I did not want to wait until they became too old.

"As a father, it is now more important than ever for me to further my education so I can get a good, stable job.'' His children and his wife, while being a motivating factor in his return to school, were also the one thing Mr. Smith dreaded leaving behind.

"It's been mentally hard preparing to leave my family,'' he said. "I just hope that the time away will not affect my relationship with them too much.

"But I will return on holidays to be with them.'' Despite the sacrifices, Mr. Smith said he was looking forward to his two years in school.

"It's been a long time since I've been in school; I've been wanting to go back for a while. I'm looking forward to the challenges.'' And the sports hero heralded the value of an education -- advising youngsters that school should take precedence over sports.

"I think education is the most important thing,'' he said. "Sports can only take you so far. If you have a choice between sports and education, choose education.'' Libby Francis will attend Clark Atlanta University to make a career change, from journalism to teaching.

Ms Francis will spend the next two-and-a-half years obtaining her teaching certificate and a Master's degree in Education.

"My aim is to teach reading to Middle School One,'' she explained. "I'm doing reading because that's where the need is at the moment as there is a very high illiteracy rate in Bermuda.'' But the 26-year-old admitted that when she first finished her Bachelor's degree, obtaining a postgraduate degree was the furthest thing from her mind.

"My first year back from university my mother was quick to suggest that I go on to do my Master's but I was adamantly against it,'' Miss. Francis recalled.

"I told my mother that I never wanted to be a student again.'' But after spending some time in the working world, she said she slowly began to change her mind.

"After five years of working and gaining much experience, I felt like it was time for me to grow in another area. I've always been interested in teaching and it's a field that I feel that I can be very good at and I have a lot to offer.'' Ms Francis warned those contemplating returning to school that "it's hard getting your mind back into that way of thinking like a student -- books, studying, tickets to come home, money''.

And she said that preparing financially to return to school, as a mature student, required planning.

Ms Francis explained: "As an adult student it was very important for me to gather my own finances.

"I have very supportive parents who have, up until now, gone up and beyond the call of duty in educating me. But I felt it was time for me to stand on my own two feet so I just sat down and devised a plan.

"If you really sit down and figure out your finances and what you will need for almost all aspects of your life and school then it can be less overwhelming.'' Ms Francis also said that mature students should expect to feel apprehensive, since it was all just part of the normal process of giving up the familiar for the unknown.

"The scariest part for me is the fact that I'm a creature of habit so going back to school after five years means change,'' she confessed. "I truly love being home so I'm not necessarily pleased about leaving. But Atlanta is just a two-hour direct flight so I'll be home for all of my holidays and my parents tell me that they will be on continuous stand-by whenever I need them.

However, she said that the encouragement adult students received from their family and friends really helped to reinforce their confidence in their decision.

"People's reaction has been extremely positive which has been very encouraging because it really makes me feel that I'm doing the right thing.

And it's nice to know that so many people feel that I can contribute a lot as a teacher in Bermuda.'' BACK TO SCHOOL -- Sabrina Trott gets some study tips from her 12-year-old son Reid. The 33-year-old mother is heading to college next month.

Clay Smith