A NORTH-EAST woman has been recognised as one of the brainiest in the country.

Sarah Graham's glowing First in biochemistry has placed the 21-year-old in the top three performing students overall at Oxford University.

The aspiring scientist attended Nunthorpe School, Middlesbrough, then Pursglove College, Guisborough, collecting 13 A*s in her GCSEs and five As in her A-levels, before going to Exeter College, Oxford, to study biochemistry.

In her first year at Oxford, Miss Graham was the top biochemistry student and was awarded the Biochemistry Society Prize as well as the Fitzgerald Prize and Waugh Scholarship.