A STUDENT from St Albans who gave up the opportunity of travelling with friends so he could retake his A-levels has won the round-the-world ticket of his dreams.

It was a year ago that Mr Mr Tim Field, 19, of Salisbury Hall, St Albans, found out that far from achieving the grades he needed to attend Nottingham, his chosen university, he had received a D and two C's in art, maths and physics.

Mr Field, who attended Haileybury School in Hertford, admitted he was "devastated" by the news.

Not only would he not being going to Nottingham, but his trip to Australasia with his school friends was made impossible.

On receiving his results, Mr Field decided he would have to go back to school and bid his friends farewell.

Second time round he chose Cambridge and the Cambridge Arts and Sciences College, where he spent the next 12 months studying for his summer exams.

He said: "It was tough, but towards the end I realised that if I wanted to do well I had to work."

A year on and Mr Field has achieved a place at Nottingham University reading industrial economics after achieving an A grade in maths and B grades in physics and art.

His achievement has not only won him a place at university. It also won him a round-the-world ticket, after the college awarded the significant improvement in the grades which he had achieved.

Mr Field intends to take his trip during his university summer holiday and is already planning his itinerary.

He said: "I have got a certain budget to spend and I'd like to go to Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, Australia and then to South America maybe Peru.

"It's all new to me but I've talked to a few friends and they have all said they would like to meet up."

Mr Field's recent academic success has made him keen that other students should not be dissuaded from having a second try when things do not go according to plan. He said: "It is a big decision and you've got to get it into your head you are there to work."