Top class results for student Kirsty (From The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald)

Top class results for student Kirsty

Ref. 29191-48SCORING three straight As at A-level and winning a place at a top university is a triumph in itself.

But it is even more of an achievement when you're suffering from an energy-draining disease which leaves you permanently shattered.

That is why ME sufferer Kirsty Saull, from Highworth, has been chosen from hundreds of Wiltshire students for an attainment award.

Kirsty was determined not to give in to her condition, which meant that she often had to miss lessons, and managed to complete her A-level courses at Swindon College.

The 20-year-old left with top grades in philosophy, English literature and sociology as well as a merit in critical thinking.

She is currently studying for a degree in philosophy at Durham University, one of the country's leading centres of learning.

Kirsty says that she was able to cope because of the help and support of her lecturers and classmates.

Now she is one of 30 students from across the county who have been nominated for a Learning Champions Award.

The awards, run by the local Learning and Skills Council the Government's higher education funding arm are designed to recognise educational achievements in Wiltshire.

Kirsty, whose ambition is to become a teacher, said that she thought being diagnosed with ME would put her education on hold.

She said: "I am very proud that I managed to achieve such success after what first appeared to be a wasted number of years of my life.

"Although ME was difficult to live with, my parents, lecturers and friends allowed me to believe it was never the sole aspect of my life.

"It was mainly the support I was given by these people, especially my mother that allowed me to succeed in my studies."

Kirsty will have to wait until March 5 to find out if she has won an award.

The presentation ceremony takes place at the De Vere's Hotel in Shaw Ridge.

Swindon College lecturer Nan Pratt, who taught Kirsty, said: "Her results were outstanding, and it is a real reflection of all the effort and time she invested to these subjects.

"ME can be very debilitating, yet Kirsty didn't let it stop her."

Also known as chronic fatigue syndrome, Myalgic Encephalomyelitis leaves sufferers unable to perform even the simplest tasks without being left exhausted.

Around 150,000 people are affected by it in the UK.

Tamash Lal