Golfer's driving ambition wins her a place at St Andrews

A RISING Yorkshire golf star's driving ambition has secured her a place to study medicine at Scotland’s world-famous University of St Andrews, renowned as the home of the sport.

Ripon Grammar School student Beatrice Pickles-Mercer, who has represented her county in competitions, combined her passion for golf with her academic studies, earning two A*s in biology and French and an A in chemistry.

The talented young golfer admits juggling elite-level sport and exam preparation was no easy feat.

Picking up her results the day before her 18th birthday, she said: “Golf has been a very demanding sport for me during A-levels and my time in sixth form.”

“I had to cut down a large amount of the time I would spend at the practice ground and I was unable to enter any competitions.

“However, I was able to keep telling myself that all this hard work would pay off because I will be able to play golf alongside my studies at university since St Andrews is the home of golf.”

Known worldwide as the birthplace of the game, St Andrews boasts historic links courses with a strong university golf programme alongside its prestigious medical school, where Beatrice will begin her studies this autumn.

She says she’s now looking forward to taking the game she started playing at just seven years old to a higher level: “Having world-class facilities so close to the university if invaluable, and I look forward to balancing my passion for golf with my medical studies,” she said.

“During the drive to come and collect my results I realised this is the moment that determines the rest of my life and how important it is to me.

“As you can imagine when I opened my results and saw that I would officially be able to say I have achieved my dream I was delighted - I don’t think I’ve ever had such a big smile on my face!”

Beatrice, who joined RGS as a boarding student, said: “I’m excited for the next stage of my life and I am thankful to have been able to study at such a wonderful school for the last seven years.”