Student off to study chimps

The period will be used by Amanda Seed to observe animal behavioural psychology as part of a three-year junior research science fellow position.

She was awarded the position at Newnham College in Cambridge to research animal behaviour mainly in rooks and chimpanzees as well as speech development in humans.

She is also looking forward to studying early speech development with very young children in Cambridge. She will also be teaching students at Newnham.

Her research position follows a three year PhD scholarship to research into animal behavourial psychology which she won at Clare College in Cambridge.

As well as finishing her PhD, she is working with baby rooks in Cambridge on behalf of her tutor Nicki Clayton.

Amanda (24) has also recently come back from giving talks on her research at St Andrew's University in Scotland and at an American university in Chicago.

Amanda attended St Philip Howard Roman Catholic High School in Barnham between 1993 and 2000 where she gained four A levels at grade A to gain a place at Clare College in Cambridge.

She achieved a first class degree in natural sciences there in 2003 to pave the way for her further research.