Mum and son line up the mortar boards

Learning was a family affair for mother and son Angela and Tom Russell. For the duo, from Marton, Middlesbrough, have achieved their separate degrees at the University of Teesside and will graduate today at Middlesbrough Town Hall.

Angela was awarded a BSc (Hons) Promoting Practice Effectiveness (Leadership and Management) while Tom received a BA (Hons) Human Resource Management.

Tom, 23, works at Corus in Redcar as a Human Resource (HR) Graduate trainee. The Corus connection is strong in the family. Angela worked in administration for the former British Steel before starting her own family. Also, her late father, Keith Parkinson, was a HR Manager for the company for 40 years.

Tom completed his placement year at Corus, leading to his new role. Mum Angela, 47, works as a Genetic Risk Assessment Practitioner at The James Cook University Hospital in Middlesbrough, which involves looking at possible hereditary cancers in families. She has worked in various nursing roles at James Cook for the past eleven years, after gaining a Diploma in Adult Nursing from the University in 1997. Angela enrolled on the part-time degree two years ago.

She said: “At one point the whole family was studying. As well as Tom and I my daughter Melanie is a Teesside Nursing student and my husband Mel was working towards an NVQ in Health and Safety, so we all understood when one of us needed to disappear with the textbooks! I’m really proud of Tom and so chuffed that we got our degrees on the same day.”

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