Varsity film star Suzanne

A FORMER student of a Rotherham college is celebrating after being one of only 20 in the country to be awarded a Royal Television Society bursary to help towards the costs of her university degree.

Suzanne Pearson left Thomas Rotherham College this summer after gaining A Levels in Spanish, English Language and biology.

She will now go on to study for a three-year BSc (Hons) in Film and Television Production at the University of York.

Her love of film started when she was just 12 when she became interested in how they were produced.

Despite not studying film or media at A Level, she maintained her interest through extra-curricular activities and spent ten days during the summer of 2013 on a residential stay at the British Film Institute.

To apply for the bursary, Suzanne submitted a film script she had written, together with examples of her film production and directing work and a personal statement.

She was then interviewed by the Royal Television Society.

Suzanne said: “It’s amazing to be awarded this scholarship.

“I didn’t think I'd have a chance with there only being 20 available nationwide.

“I’m blessed as it will really help out with the costs of going to uni.”

Suzanne will use the money to support living costs and anticipates that some of it can be put towards purchasing her own camera equipment.

She said she hoped that her degree would enable her to experiment further with cinematography, film direction, writing and production and could lead to her working in the film and TV industries as a director.