ONE of Durham University's biggest colleges has announced the appointment of a new principal.

Dr Jane Taylor is taking up the post, combining it with her academic role in the university's department of French.

An expert in late medieval French literature, Dr Taylor has written extensively and edited various collective volumes.

She graduated from Oxford University in 1963 in modern languages, and gained a masters degree in 1970. She also holds an honorary doctorate from the University of Champagne- Ardennes, in France.

A fellow and university lecturer at St Hilda's College, Oxford, since 1990, she said of her appointment at Durham: "I am delighted to be joining such a successful and dynamic college."