A FORMER carer who went back to college has won an award.
Paula Rumney, 34, from Harelaw, near Stanley, has won a national Adult Learners Week Award.
The married mother-of-two, who cared for her elderly grandfather, was a part-time shop assistant and care home cook, and won the accolade for following her dream of becoming a nurse.
She took an Access to Nursing course at Derwentside College, Consett, and passed with a distinction, progressing to study nursing at North-umbria University, in Newcastle.
She was one of 60 out of 619 applicants to gain a place at the university.
Last July, she won a Learning and Skills Council County Durham lifelong learning award.
"I have gained the confidence and determination to succeed," she said. "I never dreamed I would get this far.
"My teachers at school said I wouldn't even pass my O-levels, yet I got three distinctions at Derwentside College and now I'm studying for a degree at university. I now know, from my experience, if you put your mind to it, you can do anything."
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