FORMER Worcester and Martley student Kate Jones has turned into a financial high-flyer.

The 28-year-old, whose parents live in Worcester, is one of the youngest multi-billion pound fund managers in the City and she has just been presented with a Gold Award from the Association of Colleges (AoC).

The awards are presented by the AoC Charitable Trust to celebrate success through further education. Kate recognises how her time at Worcester College of Technology provided her with the building blocks to forge so successful a career.

She studied economics A-level at the college following five years at the Chantry High School in Martley, initially to balance out her other subjects. With the support of her economics teacher she excelled in the subject and then chose to study it at degree level at Birming-ham University.

In the late 1990s Kate joined the Prudential M&G Company as the only woman in the annual intake and won the Harpers and Queen Young Businesswoman of the Year Award in 2003.

In 2005, she joined the top asset management company Barclays Global Investors, where she now helps to manage large company pension schemes with a total fund value of about £20bn.

Kate is an example of the benefits of further education, and Worcester College of Technology is understandably proud to have played a role in her achievements.

She said: "I didn't intend to study economics long- term, but when I became aware that this was an area I enjoyed and was successful in the college supported me fully. In many ways, the practical A-level course I took at Worcester proved more useful in my day-to-day work than some of the complex theoretical principles I learned at university. I am proud to have won a Gold Award and would like to thank the college for all of its encouragement and for nominating me."