WHEN switching it off and then back on again fails, Joel Stanford is just the person you need.

Because the the developer at communications and exhibitions specialists drp has been named British Computing Society's best computing student of the year of the Hereford and Worcester branch at its annual meeting at the University of Worcester. Mr Stanford was presented with a certificate of achievement, a cheque for £150 and one year’s professional membership to the BCS.

The award is based on "outstanding student performance" throughout the entire university course and was chosen by university lecturers and staff from a class of 80 students. Mr Stanford graduated as a mature student from the university with first class honours in BSc Computing and went on to join drp as a developer in the digital team at its Hartlebury headquarters.

He said: "I went back to the University of Worcester three years ago as a mature student to pursue my dream career of becoming a developer – and to finish those three years with this award to recognise my hard work has been amazing. Having the opportunity to join the drpteam as a developer has been fantastic and a dream come true.”

Ben Wallace, drp digital director, added: "This is a fantastic achievement for Joel and a testament to the hard work he has put in to his course and to his role as developer. It's great to have him as part of the team.”