hiː mˈuːvd fɹʌm ɐ dᵻɡɹˈiː ɪn hˈiːbɹuː tə ðə jˌuːnɪvˈɜːsᵻɾi ʌv lˈiːdz wˌɛɹ hiː tˈʊk ɐ fˈɜːst ɪn bˈɑːtəni ɪn nˈaɪntiːnhˈʌndɹɪd sˈɪksti nˈaɪn fˈɑːloʊd baɪ ɐ pˌiːˈeɪtʃ dˈiː ɪn plˈænt dʒɪnˈɛɾɪks æt kˈeɪmbɹɪdʒ ˌʌndɚ sˌɜː ɹˈælf ɹˈaɪli.
He moved from a degree in Hebrew to the University of Leeds where he took a first in botany in 1969 followed by a PhD in plant genetics at Cambridge under Sir Ralph Riley.