A STUDENT is celebrating after winning the equivalent of an Oscar at the British Farming Awards.

Naomi Ramsay was named Agricultural Student of the Year at the prestigious ceremony, which took place in The Vox Conference Centre in Birmingham on October 19.

The 27-year-old, who lives south of Ormiston, is studying for a BSc in agriculture at Scotland’s Rural College (SRUC) and was thrilled to have collected the accolade.

She said: “It hasn’t actually sunk in that I have won the Agricultural Student of the Year.

“Agricultural students are vital in encouraging younger people to come into the industry.

“The British Farming Awards are the Oscars within the farming community and the energy and vibe is amazing.

“I am so proud to be part of farming and even more proud we are part of an industry producing food for the nation.

“We have to carry on and we need young people to be part of that.”

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It marks the second year in a row that SRUC has scooped the prize – last year, Rhona Campbell Crawford won the category.

It is also the second year that the prize has gone to a student from a non-farming background.

It caps a memorable 12 months for Naomi, who won the Higher Education HND category, as well as a CARAS award, at Lantra Scotland’s Awards for Land-based and Aquaculture Skills (ALBAS) in March. Naomi, who attended Pencaitland Primary School and Ross High School, previously completed an HND at the SRUC’s Oatridge campus in West Lothian.

She also works as an intern at SAC Consulting.

She decided to pursue her dream of working outdoors with livestock during lockdown, after years of questioning her abilities due to a dyslexia diagnosis.

Through her own hard work and support from SRUC, Naomi – who rears her own lambs – has gone from strength to strength and is now in the fourth year of her honours degree.

Lecturer Craig Davidson, who nominated Naomi, said: “I am so incredibly proud of how far she has come through trials and tribulations, while navigating through the complexity of dyslexia and not being from a farming background.

“She is the epitome of resilience.”