SOFIA—A 78-year-old Bulgarian man started off the new school year on Thursday like hundreds of children a fraction of his age … in first grade.

Apostol Stoyanov from the central village of Popovtsi never got a chance to attend school when he was a kid and decided to enrol in first grade this year, at the age of 78, the state BTA news agency reported citing school officials.

The elderly man, who attended the start of classes Thursday in Gabrovo alongside another 430 first graders, told the agency that he was illiterate but had already started practicing to write letters.

Maths scared him but he expected teachers to help him.

Stoyanov, who lives alone and barely makes ends meet, will not attend regular classes but will be a private student at the school, BTA said.