Sheffield alumni to be awarded titles by the Queen

Psychology grad Jessica Ennis-Hill will be made a dame

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Sheffield’s very own have been celebrated in the Queen’s New Year’s Honours List.

World heptathlon champion Jessica Ennis-Hill, who graduated from the University of Sheffield in 2007, will be made a dame after winning gold at the London 2012 Olympics and silver in Rio last year.

Announcing her retirement from the sport in October, local girl Jess has come a long way from her days of studying Psychology and now joins the likes of Maggie Smith, Kelly Holmes, Vivienne Westwood and Helen Mirren with her new title.

Clearly delighted by the news, the athlete took to social media to announce the news.

Another one of Sheffield’s sporting names, gold medallist Hollie Webb, will become a MBE after helping Team GB to victory in the women’s hockey final against the Netherlands in Rio.

Elsewhere, Vernon Gibson, who graduated with a degree in Chemistry in 1980, has been awarded Order of the Bath. Nick Lowles, Founder of Hope Not Hate, the UK’s largest anti-racism and anti-extremism movement, has also been recognised with an MBE.

Congratulating the achievements of Sheffield alumni in the Honours List, Vice-Chancellor Keith Burnett, said: “Our University is hugely proud of our alumni who continue to be outstanding leaders in their fields and who are an inspiration to current students, whether through exceptional achievement in sport, through a lifelong scientific career or striving for tolerance and acceptance in our society”.