A Norwich student who became one of the first people to gain a brand new qualification has spoken of her joy after it helped her land a new job.

Romilly Horner, of Thorpe St Andrew, became one of the region's first T-Level students when two years ago she chose to take a course in education and childcare.

The new courses are the equivalent of three A-Levels and see pupils taught through a combination of classroom learning and on-the-job placements.

Miss Horner, who studied the qualification at Thorpe St Andrew Sixth Form, is among the inaugural cohort of T-Level students and now finds herself preparing to start her first job in education.

The 18-year-old said: "I chose to do a T-Level because when I came to choose what to do after GCSEs I struggled to choose three or four subjects I was interested in.

"I knew that I wanted to go into education, so it made sense to choose a course that meant I could focus all my energy on this one path.

"I work very hard but have always found exams difficult so the chance to learn on the job really appealed to me."

Miss Horner was given a placement at Charles Darwin Primary School and Nursery in the city centre - and has gone on to land a job as a full-time teaching assistant at the very same school.

And she said the placement also gave her the opportunity to slightly change her path through her experiences.

"I always thought that I wanted to be a nursery worker, so I began with a placement in the nursery," she added.

"But I then found this wasn't necessarily for me and that I enjoyed working with children in year one and reception more.

"Were it not for the placement I possibly would have gone on to do more nursery level qualifications and perhaps carried on down a path that wasn't right for me."

She added: "I really benefitted from the practical side of the course and would definitely recommend doing them to anyone with a similar way of learning to me."