Record number achieve first class results

A total of 23 students, from an intake of 48, achieved First Class grades on this year’s BA (Hons) Leadership and Management programme.

It is a particularly high but rigorously verified outcome, and is the first time that such a large percentage of students have received top tier recognition for their work.

Graduating student Zoe Cleghorn completed her degree while working full-time and in the evenings.

The 30-year-old, from Pegswood in Morpeth, said: “It has been a big achievement and I feel that the support received from the tutors helped with the excellent results gained by students.

“Completing the Leadership and Management Programme has helped with my progression into my current role at Wellway Medical Group where I work as a supervisor. I hope to continue my development into a management role.”

Emma Bird, 24, who lives in Northumberland, currently works for Northumberland County Council as a project development assistant.

She said: “Newcastle Business School at Northumbria is fantastic. I couldn’t have asked for a better place of study. A lot of the credit has to go to my tutors, who were professional, understanding and very supportive. I would highly recommend the course to anyone wanting to pursue business-related higher education.”

The BA (Hons) Leadership and Management degree is an innovative part-time and distance-learning undergraduate programme, which is delivered over three and a half years. It seeks to provide an excellent learning platform for aspiring or existing leaders and managers.

Programme Director Guy Brown said: “The success of these students represents a remarkable achievement from an exceptionally high number of the graduating cohort. It is extremely unusual for so many students to achieve a first class degree and represents the hard work and high standards of these graduates.

“It is a credit to the teaching staff at Newcastle Business School and also the sheer talent and determination of these students, all of whom were engaged in full-time employment working on projects designed to deliver results back into their workplace.”

Graduates receiving first class degrees were: Annette Benoist, Emma Bird, Lesley Bird, Richard Bland, Vickie Brenkley, Kelly Brenkley, Michael Burns, Josephine Charlton, Anne Clark, Zoe Cleghorn, Sarah Cullen, Scott Dunkinson, Samantha Dunnett, Alison Edwards, Denise Francis, William Garrett, Heather Gatenby, Peter Ivey, David Johnston, Kate McGill, Judith Milne, Shaun Robson, and Lee Willmott.