A HIGH-achieving student has become the first recipient of a new academic prize at Teesside University.

The prize was set up by graduate and former legal secretary Katherine Hierons, who is now assistant director of Immigration Enforcement in the Home Office.

She named the prize the Barry and Ann Walker prize after her parents and its aim is to reward a high achiever on the Employability for Business module at the university.

Jake Clayton, 23, was awarded the £500 prize and trophy for receiving the highest mark on the module.

The former project manager in the IT industry recently returned to his native Teesside from London to study towards a degree.

Ms Hierons, 46, didn't consider higher education when she left school but was offered the chance to complete a law degree and MBA later in life.

She said: “I've been very lucky as the Crown Prosecution Service, who I was working for at the time, part-sponsored me to complete the law degree and then winning a full scholarship to undertake the MBA at Teesside was amazing.

“I’m hoping that by awarding a prize to a student it's a way of giving something back and hopefully will help to inspire.”

To find out more about sponsoring a student prize contact Alex Robertson on a.robertson@tees.ac.uk or (01642) 738227.