Tasleema is top medical student

Tasleema Begum

A medical school student, who was the first in her family to go to university, is celebrating after finishing top of her class.

Oldhamer Tasleema Begum (23) was given the Outstanding Academic Achievement Award from The University of Manchester for being its medical school’s best performing MB ChB (Bachelor of Medicine) student for 2014.

And with the award comes a cheque for £1,000.

Tasleema is a former Manchester Access Programme (MAP) student — a structured scheme for local post-16 students who meet specific academic and background criteria, normally backgrounds that are currently underrepresented in higher education.

The scheme is one way in which the university seeks to achieve its goal of recruiting students who will be successful at Manchester regardless of their educational and social background.

Tasleema, who attended Radclyffe School and Oldham Sixth Form College, said: “I had always been good at sciences and wanted to study medicine, and the Manchester Access Programme definitely helped me achieve that goal.”

Tasleema is now looking forward to starting her foundation doctor training at Manchester Royal Infirmary.