A Carlisle teenager has achieved her university dream, despite battling a cyst on her brain.

Kathryn Dent, of Durdar, lost a year of her education due to chronic migraines caused by the cyst, but overcame the odds to gain impressive results in her A levels.

She will soon be heading off to study biomedical sciences at Lancaster University, a course she was inspired to undertake following her illness.

The 19-year-old collapsed at home almost two years ago and since then has had a daily struggle with migraines and severe headaches.

"I'm very pleased," she said. "When I first started year 13 I became ill with chronic migraines. I'm a year behind."

Medics discovered Kathryn had a pineal (CORR) cyst on her brain at the top of her spinal cord and, due to the severity of her migraines, she had to drop out of school.

"It has been awful. I wouldn't have been able to do it, but the RVI gave me botox and that has enabled me to do this last year," said Kathryn, a pupil at Newman Catholic School in Carlisle.

"I have always been interested in science and the medical side of it.

"There are a lot of people behind the scenes who do a lot of work and I wanted to give something back to the people who do the diagnostic work."

While the cyst is still there unchanged, Kathryn has constant headaches to contend with. She said they are not only unpleasant, but also make her tired and unable to concentrate- an added strain in preparing for her exams.

Thanks to the treatment, she was able to complete her studies with flying colours though, achieving an A* in biology, an A in general studies, and Bs in psychology and chemistry.

Proud dad Bryan Dent told the News & Star : "The results are just unbelievable.

"It's absolutely fantastic news considering what she has been through. I couldn't have wished for anything more."

Headteacher John McAuley congratulated Kathryn on her excellent performance.

He also praised others for their achievements and said he was "absolutely thrilled" with the success of all the year 13 students.

"We are truly delighted with this year's A level results. It was fantastic to see all the happy faces as the students opened their results."