Skehel was born in Blackburn to Joseph and Annie Skehel in 1941, and was educated at St. Mary's College, Blackburn before entering the University of Aberystwyth to study for a Bachelor of Science degree in agricultural biochemistry.
He completed his postgraduate study at the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology (UMIST), completing his PhD in biochemistry in 1966, for research on cation transport in yeast [REF].