Celebrating students' success.

THE annual procession of academics weaved its way from Teesside University to Middlesbrough Town Hall yesterday as graduation week got underway.

Traffic was stopped to allow the academics together with the mayors of Stockton and Redcar and Cleveland to parade to the town hall where students were waiting for the first graduation ceremony.

For the first time the graduations are being held over five days, with 3,000 students graduating in 12 ceremonies, accompanied by 9,000 guests.

At the ceremony the Professor Graham Henderson, the university's vice-chancellor said: "I stand here feeling probably more proud than I have ever felt in my life, knowing our university has been chosen as UK's 'University of the Year' for 2009, almost certainly the greatest achievement of our institution in its 80-year history."

He paid tribute to the graduates, adding: "It is important that you, our students - now our graduates - know just how much you have contributed to making Teesside the thriving, energetic, dynamic, well respected place that it is and how much we have all enjoyed, and appreciated, having you as part of our community.

"It's people like you who are going to be pivotal to getting our economy started again and ensuring we've a great future to look forward to."

Graduation honours: Pages 17-19

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BIG DAY: Teesside University graduates make their way to Middlesbrough Town Hall, left, for the first day of ceremonies at the university, which was this year crowned University of the Year, as shown, below