A TEACHER and her "apprentice" have scored a double success by winning two awards for a mentoring scheme.

BSc (Hons) computer studies student Nirmala Devi Krish-naraj has spent time working with the Inland Revenue office, under the supervision of team leader Deborah Rose.

Both were presented with awards after taking part in a programme designed to improve the education and employment prospects for ethnic minority students.

Nirmala won her award for Mentee of the Year and Deborah for Mentor of the Year, at a ceremony in London.

Nirmala, 38, is originally from India but has lived in Middlesbrough for ten years with her doctor husband and two sons.

She said: "I've always liked computers but I wanted to get real work experience here in England. I learned lots working with Deborah, and my communications skills have really improved.

Ms Rose said: "Working as mentor is a brilliant development opportunity for anyone. You learn a lot about yourself and it's very rewarding to help undergraduates develop."

The programme, called the National Mentoring Consortium Ethnic Minority Undergraduate Mentoring Scheme, develops high calibre ethnic minority undergraduates for successful job recruitment by providing the opportunity to learn from a mentor in a work place environment.