MORE than 300 students will graduate from the University of Worcester with first class honours this autumn.

A total of 325 students secured the top classification in their degrees and will graduate during a week of celebrations at Worcester Cathedral in November.

Among them were Worcester students Alexandra Giles, Annie Kelechi Bende, Sophie Curnock, Claire Rees, Nick Williams, Annabelle McCourt, Beckie Harvey, Samantha Collison, Kirsty Driscoll, Tahlia Jan Tiller, Nicki Le Page and Emily Freestone.

Miss Giles, 22, of Saltwood Avenue, achieved her first in Human Nutrition and has secured a job as a business development coordinator for a food and drink distributor.

The former Worcester Sixth Form College student said: “All the hard work paid off.”

Miss Curnock, of Alcester Road, Radford, who studied Integrated Working with Children and Families, said: “It made me realise how much you can achieve when you really want something.”

The 23-year-old is already working as a special educational needs teaching assistant at a primary school.

Mrs Rees, 36, of Bilford Road, plans to obtain Qualified Teacher Status following her first in Education Studies.

Mr Williams, 29, of Dilmore Lane, said achieving a first in Computing was “fantastic” and praised the guidance of staff.

He plans to return to a business management consultancy firm he worked for in his gap year, but as an entrepreneur also plans to grow his various business ventures.

Miss Harvey, 23, of Draycote Close, St Peters, took Education Studies and spent part of her second year studying at a university in Ontario, Canada.

She will begin a PGCE teacher training course at Worcester in September.

Mrs Collison, 30, of Littleworth, Norton, combined studying business management with a full-time job and the birth of her son and said flexible class schedules had enabled her to attend evening lectures.

She has already put her degree to use, securing a new position with employer Sanctuary Group.

Mrs Driscoll, 36, of Mallard Close, who took English Literary Studies, said: “It was a little daunting returning to studies as a mature student with a family, but the past three years have provided some of the most rewarding times for me.”

She is doing a Master’s, hoping for an academic career as a researcher or lecturer.

After achieving her degree in Biochemistry, Mrs Le Page, 41, of Bedwardine Road, has been accepted on a teacher training course to be a secondary school science teacher alongside her PGCE.

Annie Bende, aged 25, of Bromyard Road, who previously studied at Rivers State School of Nursing in Nigeria, achieved her first in Nursing Studies and plans to do a Master’s in Public Health.

Emily Freestone, of Pershore, achieved a first in Adult Nursing and is now working as a staff nurse in an Accident and Emergency department

Annabelle McCourt, 29, of City Walls Road, got a first in Sports Studies and Physical Education and will now be applying for jobs in exercise physiology and a Master’s in clinical exercise physiology.

Tahlia Tiller, 21, of Cover Green, Home Meadow, studied Early Childhood Professional Practice and plans to do a PGCE teacher training course.