Student news round-up: Footballer gets a first, Warwick student's transplant visa denied, and Cambridge ranks fifth in the world

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First class degree for footballing father

A student at the University of Portsmouth has graduated with a first class degree despite also playing international football, and bringing up his two-year-old daughter.

The Galleon reports on Levi Hanssen, a journalism student who gained his first while playing professional football for HB Torshaun. Hanssen lives on the Faroe Islands, around 200 miles north of Scotland, with his wife and daughter.

To add to his achievements Hanssen's university work has been recognised by a national newspaper, which is now considering publishing his final project. He hopes to find a job in journalism, though he also wants to continue playing football.

He said: "Studying while being a parent and having football has been challenging, to say the least. You have to manage your time well, and you have to be very focused on your work. On the other hand it’s a great combination precisely because it’s so flexible. It allows for lots of family time.”

Warwick student's mother denied visa to donate kidney

The mother of a Warwick student in need of a kidney transplant has been denied a visa that would allow her to donate to her son.

Karuna Maniktala entered the UK on a short-term tourist visa to care for her son, Pulkit, who has been diagnosed with end-stage renal failure. Both are Indian citizens. Pulkit, who studies computer science, requires lengthy dialysis sessions in hospital multiple times a week and will continue to do so until he receives a new kidney.

But although she has been tested and is a viable donor, Karuna was denied the temporary residency visa that would have extended her stay to allow for the operation. The Home Office said that it had taken "all the compassionate aspects" into account but concluded the equivalent treatment was available and accessible in India.

Pulkit has started a petition in protest and the Warwick students' union has launched a campaign in support of his case.

Cambridge ranked fifth in the world

Cambridge has been ranked the fifth best university in the world for the fourth year running, according to the Academic Ranking of World Universities.

It is the only British university in the top five, writes Varsity, with its nearest competitors Oxford (10th) and UCL (20th). The top four universities were all American, with Harvard topping the table.

The ranking takes into account the number of Nobel Prize-winning alumni and staff, the number of articles in academic journals, and researchers' citations.

Three universities top the NSS satisfaction table

Meanwhile the universities of St Andrews, Bath and Keele have jointly been placed top in the UK for student satisfaction, according to this year's National Student Survey.

The Saint reports that 93 per cent of students questioned said they were "satisfied" or "very satisfied" with their overall experience, with a full 100 per cent of students reporting satisfaction in some St Andrews departments.

Prospective students accidentally emailed about results

It wouldn't have been A-level results day without at least one university making an administrative error, and this year it was Nottingham Trent's turn to slip up.

According to The Tab, the university accidentally emailed 30 potential students on the evening before results were released to commiserate them on not making their grades. The emails did not disclose what marks the students had got, but won't have helped those pre-results day jitters.