University of Brighton students celebrate graduations on seafront

Graduates had their ceremony at the Brighton Centre in Brighton on Thursday and Friday.

They ranged from 23 to 77 years old and came from 99 different countries.

There was also honorary degrees awarded to Booker Prize-winning author Anna Burns, as well as professor Rory Mortimore, one of the world's leading experts on the geology of chalk landscapes such as the South Downs.

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Andy Knowles was one of the graduates celebrating.

He joined University of Brighton as a 49-year-old mature student, swapping running his own successful engineering business to do postgraduate study for Applied Sport Physiology MSc and change his career to be involved in endurance sport.

Andy Knowles who graduated from University of Brighton

Andy said: “I had little knowledge of physiology at the start, but I thought it can't be any harder than running a business or consulting to Heathrow Airport.

“It had been 20 years since I had done any kind of academic study and it was a lot tougher and more challenging than I imagined, but from the word go I absolutely loved it. My brain came alive. I knew this where I wanted to be and what I wanted to do.”