I went through the College aged 33 (and 3 days!) without the benefit of any previous controlling experience although I had had the benefit of 20 months working as an AATC for the MoD (at a military base).
I had no trouble passing any of the practical assessments - unlike some of my (lot) younger colleagues - but where I really found the difference was in learning for the written papers. Here I really did feel the difference in age as I tried to get my ancient grey matter to absorb information sufficient to spout out for a written paper.
One of our course was bemoaning the fact that his mind was not used to learning as it was nearly four years since he had had to learn anything. He was amused when I pointed out that it was over fifteen years for me and that I couldn't really see his problem!!
What Pugwash4x4 said is also a factor: as an older person you have gone into it with full knowledge of the risks and therefore do not want to fail. You should also have life experience by now and be able to cope with the stresses and strains of college life.
What part of Scotland are you from?