A University of Bradford School of Management student, on course to complete the country’s first sector specific financial planning degree, was last night honoured with an award from the Bradford Insurance Institute after coming top of the class in her exams.

Jelena Savonina, 24, of Bradford, was presented with the Colin Dallas Memorial Award for achieving the best result in her Chartered Insurance Institute Examinations among the members of the Bradford Insurance Institute.

She is one of eight students who became the first in the country to sign up for the new four-year BSc Financial Planning degree. It was started by Bradford University School of Management in 2010 to allow students to study a wide range of business and management-related subjects, plus specialist financial planning units.