A BASINGSTOKE teenager has become one of the first 10 students in the UK to gain a professional Microsoft qualification.

Rebekah Kinchin passed both the Microsoft Office Specialists (MOS) Word and Excel exams at UTC Reading – a new University Technical College that opened in September and which specialises in computer science and engineering, taught alongside the national curriculum to pupils aged 14 to 19.

Fourteen-year-old Rebekah said: “The training was really good. I learned quite a lot of new things so was less nervous during the exams.

“I was really happy and quite proud when I found out we were the first students to pass. This will set me apart from other people when I apply for jobs in the future.”

The MOS programme is a professional qualification from Microsoft that is recognised worldwide. Individuals can become specialists in each element of Microsoft Office and once they pass all six exams will become a Microsoft Office Master.

Students at UTC Reading train for the MOS exams in their own time and choose when to sit them.

Daniel Sydes, director of computer science and mathematics, said: “We support and encourage our students who decide to sit these professional qualifications as they are an important part of what sets a UTC graduate apart from the crowd.

“By partnering academic and professional qualifications, we are equipping students for employment in the modern IT and engineering workplace.”

Prodigy Learning provided all the learning materials and managed the exam process and confirmed the pioneering results.