STUDENT Kathryn Ripley has proved top of the class by winning two university prizes.

Kathryn, 21, from Newton Aycliffe, has just started her third and final year of an applied psychology degree at the University of Durham.

Kathryn, who attended Woodham Community Technology College, Newton Aycliffe, and Queen Elizabeth Sixth Form College, Darlington, won the Ede and Ravenscroft prize as a top second year student. She won a second award for academic achievement in applied psychology.

Her proud mother, Val, said: "She didn't know about these awards until she got a letter recently. She's very modest about it all, but we're all very proud of her."

Kathryn will be presented with her awards by the Mayor of Stockton, Provost John Hayward, at the Stockton campus next Wednesday