A Kingston academic has scooped up a prestigious teaching award in recognition of her outstanding impact on students’ learning.

Dr Alison Baverstock, an associate professor of publishing at Kingston University, was one of 54 university lecturers across the country to be named ‘national teaching fellows by Advance HE.

The prestigious award seeks to celebrate individuals who have made an outstanding impact on student outcomes and teaching in higher education.

After a career in the publishing industry, Dr Baverstock joined Kingston University in 2002 and went on to play a leading role in the field of publishing studies.

Dr Baverstock co-established the school’s MA in publishing in 2006 and founded the university’s Big Read scheme, which sends a special edition copy of a book to all new students arriving at the university each year.

The scheme was the first in Britain to establish a shared reading scheme on such a large scale. It has led to collaborations with universities in Mississippi and North Florida.

Dr Baverstock, who is an army spouse herself, also founded Reading Force, which seeks to connect families in the armed forces through shared reading.

Dr Baverstock said: "As an army wife, Kingston has been important as a point of consistency when moving due to my husband's postings.

“It's meant I've had to be very flexible to adapting to new surroundings and that's something I try to instil in my students, being prepared to take on new challenges.

“I'm a strong believer in lifelong learning and feel that, as teaching staff, we should always be learning ourselves.”