A Leicestershire vocalist and songwriter has received an award at a ceremony attended by the former Beatles' producer Sir George Martin. Rachel Studley was named outstanding student of the year at the Access to Music (ATM) awards, which were also attended by Radio 1 DJ Edith Bowman. Click on the link below to listen to Rachel talking to BBC Radio Leicester presenter Ben Jackson - and playing one of her songs!
The 28-year-old Coalville musician was selected for the prize from a group of students on an ATM course at Leicester College.
 | | Rachel and Edith at the awards |
Rachel said: "It's a great course, which is why I put so much into it - and it's nice to get recognition for my efforts". Rachel says she has used music to overcome mental health problems. She suffers from schizophrenia and manic depression and has set up a website to help others with mental health issues. The site, called MadNOTBad, gets around 1,000 hits per day. Rachel said: "I still struggle with my illness but I'm dealing with it and the course at Leicester College has really helped". | 
