A mum-of-two is ‘over the moon’ after taking home an award for her ‘outstanding’ academic achievement.

Stella Dentith, 37, secured at 2:1 BA (Hons) Wellbeing and Social Care Practices at the Blackburn University Centre and now plans to study an MSc in Psychology.

During her degree ceremony, which was held at King George’s Hall, she was presented with the Outstanding Achievement Award for the school for Creative and Digital and Community.

Stella, who is now working as a forensic support worker, said: “I’m over the moon that I got the Outstanding Achievement Award, I really wasn’t expecting it. It means a lot to me because I really wanted to set my children a good example, and show them that if they work hard they can achieve their dreams.

“I decided to get back into education because I was sick of dead-end jobs such as shop work and wanted to do something more meaningful.

“I started out by doing a foundation degree in Wellbeing and Social Care Practices, which I really enjoyed so I decided to carry it on to get a BA (Hons).

“I’ve really enjoyed studying again, I thought it might be daunting, but I found it a lot easier than I than I thought, and I really enjoyed it. The course was excellent, and the tutors were really supportive and knowledgeable. 

“I particularly enjoyed the mental health psychology element of the course, which is why I want to carry on to gain an MSc in Psychology.”

Philomena Hughes, programme leader for Wellbeing and Social Care Practices,  nominated Stella for the award, she said: “Stella's commitment to improving her academic writing was incredible. She attended every study skill session and workshop session and applying constructive feedback into her learning and written work. This resulted in Stella improved her grades  - successfully increasing her classification to 2:1, an outstanding achievement”