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Mark Fletcher, who is in his final year at Jesus College studying Land Economy, was brought up in Sprotbrough, a village north west of Doncaster. He attended Ridgewood School up to GCSE before going on to his A levels at Danum School Technology College.

Both schools perform well within communities that have faced social and economic problems since the collapse of traditional industries such as coal mining. Ridgewood School last year achieved an A-C pass rate of 80 per cent and the sixth form at Danum School regularly sends pupils to Cambridge.

Mark excelled at school but, when he was just 17, his mother died. She had been a single parent with no other children. Mark lived independently in the family home for his second year at sixth form. Despite this, he went on to gain five A grades in his A levels.

“One of my teachers at Danum, Dave Irons, who taught business studies and economics, encouraged me to apply to Cambridge. I went to one of the ̽��ֱ��'s open days and immediately loved the whole place,” he says.

Mark is due to take up his post as president of CUSU on July 1. He will head a team of six sabbatical officers (recent graduates like himself) plus an office staff of eight part-timers. He will oversee an annual budget of £200,000.

̽��ֱ��role of the CUSU president is to represent the interests of Cambridge's 18,000 undergraduate students, who include some of the most academically-able young people in the country. This entails meetings with ̽��ֱ�� staff on key issues such as fees and rents.

As CUSU president Mark intends to keep a balanced approach to student affairs and concentrate on the practical matters that concern all students.

He is keen to support efforts that encourage state school pupils, especially those from deprived areas of the country, to aim high.

“I was fortunate enough to go to a sixth form that pushed its students to try harder. Where you come from, or where you go to school, shouldn't be an obstruction to success for people in any field, especially education, and I hope my election proves that,” he says.

“I've got a fantastic amount from my time as a student Cambridge, both academically and socially. Although it's been exhausting, it's been well worth all the hard work.”

Mark has long term career plans to go into politics. His immediate plans, however, are to “buckle down and do some serious revision” before his final exams in June.