AN 18-year-old student from the North-East has beaten thousands of computer buffs to win the title of England's top female student.

Nicola McCullogh, who sat her A-level at Bede College in Billingham, near Stockton, received the Axios A Star trophy from television and radio presenter Katy Hill at a ceremony in London.

The Stockton teenager's prizes for winning the English section of the A-level category included £150 and an X-Box.

More than 53,000 girls were entered automatically in the competition for sitting examinations in information and communications technology, marked by the UK's six leading awarding bodies.

Ms McCullogh, who is now studying applied psychology at the University of Durham, said: "I've always enjoyed using a computer, especially for design work such as posters and programmes for college productions."

Her parents, Brenda and David, and Bede College principal Miriam Stanton were in the audience at the ceremony held at the Victoria and Albert Museum.

In the UK category she finished runner-up behind Esther Irwin, from Portadown College, in Northern Ireland.