A Cornish lecturer who opened a student’s eyes to the wonders of Shakespeare has received a Hero Teacher Award.

Kit Savage, a Truro College drama lecturer, was nominated by an ex-student for her engaging drama lectures.

“Kit opened up a whole new way of looking at Shakespeare for me; she taught me how to dissect the text, find different layers of comedy and tone lying beneath the words and really inspired me to work harder at my own personal development,” said Rose Robinson, who nominated Kit.

Rose left Truro College in 2013 after completing her A Levels and she’s now at Aberystwyth University studying Drama and Theatre Studies.

Aberystwyth University gave their students the chance to nominate their most influential and supportive lecturer as the students made their journey through to university.

“I am obviously very proud but I was also very surprised, it is very touching to know that sometimes you can have this sort of impact upon a student. It is why I became a teacher,” said Kit.

Rose said: “I believe that were it not for my two years being taught by Kit I would not be as confident a performer, or person, as I am now. She has had an impact on the kind of theatre maker I want to be.”

Kit added: “I love teaching drama because it involves getting to know the students as people. We don’t just teach them the answers – there are no right answers – we teach them to think, to harness their creativity into effective theatre making.”

The Hero Teacher Awards were held at the university where Kit received a certificate and a commemorative mug. The student-led awards began in 2014 and will continue this year.