A university student from Beccles has been awarded a scholarship after turning his academic life around.

Daniel Liddell, worked in a variety of agricultural enterprises in New Zealand and Australia after struggling with his A Levels in 2010.

After a three and a half year journey down under, he returned home in 2014.

Now a student at Harper Adams University in Shropshire, the 25 year old has been awarded a Studley College Trust Scholarship, which he has used towards resources for his studies.

It will also provide him the opportunity to gain more work experience.

Mr Liddell, from Benacre near Beccles said: “Since leaving school, I’ve been trying to gain as much experience as I can. I believed the more experience I could gain on different farms, the more competent I’d be at being a farm manager, which was my initial career aspiration.

“I left school with mediocre A-level grades, as I wasn’t really interested; I was too busy looking out the window and playing sports.

“University was not right for me at that point in my life. So instead, I went to New Zealand to work on a dairy farm for the first time; it was the start of my three and a half year journey down under.”

He has worked in a variety of agricultural enterprises including dairy, arable, pig production, feedlot beef and contract harvesting.

The experience transformed the once distracted pupil into a determined university student.

His grades were so good in his first year of university that he was able to transfer from the Foundation Agriculture course to the BSc (Hons) Agriculture with Farm Business Management course.

Now as a result of receiving a Studley College Trust Scholarship, he hopes to gain more work experience in farm consultancy, and the funds will help cover the cost of a laptop, books and other university costs.

Mr Lidell said: “Coming from a traditional tenant farming background, for my future career I want to help farmers succeed and become more profitable so that farming remains sustainable for future generations and to encourage young farmers like myself to succeed.”