A FORMER Stourbridge student has been recognised for clocking up more than 300 hours of volunteering during the academic year.

From August 2014 to May this year, ex-King Edward VI College pupil Philip Brookes completed a total of 326 volunteering hours.

His volunteering efforts earned him the union activities volunteer of the year award at the University of Worcester Students’ Union annual Volunteering and Societies Awards.

Philip, who has just completed his degree in Business Management, spent time volunteering with the students’ union, as well as helping with the arrival of new students in the university’s international office.

The 23-year-old, who lives in Tividale, said: “Originally I got involved in volunteering as the students’ union helped me through a tough period.

“I found it very enjoyable talking to a wide range of people and having new tasks every time I helped.

“Being able to do something different every week, whilst helping students through university was an amazing feeling and many students still come up to me now, who I met in September.”

Philip said volunteering had helped to boost his confidence, adding: “Winning the award was a shock.

“I got to meet so many amazing people while I was volunteering and do something I was enjoying, so to get an award for something so fun was surreal and showed that people actually appreciated me and the work I had done which made me surprisingly emotional.”