More than 350 Open University students were rewarded for years of hard work when they received their degrees at a special ceremony.

The students, from across the South-East, were cheered by friends and family as they received their certificates on stage at the Brighton Dome, which reopened last month.

Another 400 graduated but did not attend.

Among the graduates was Diana Knapp, from Kemp Town, who received a masters degree in education.

The 56-year-old teacher at Downs Junior School, Brighton, took just three years to complete her course. She said: "I owe my success to the support of my husband and three children and my friends."

Christine Hough, 51, of Woodingdean, is a teacher at Cobham Hall independent school in Kent. She was one of the few women to graduate with a masters degree in business administration (MBA).

She said: "I found studying with OU empowering and would recommend it."

Lesley Dale, 46, a special needs co-ordinator at Bewbush Middle School in Crawley, studied for four years for her MA in education.

Lesley, from Gossops Green, Crawley, said: "I kept my two sons busy with outside activities to give me time to study.

"There have been benefits for them too. After hours of training they are now a black belt and a red belt at karate."

Andrew Edwards, a 52-year-old former bank worker from Copthorne studied for seven years for his BSc honours.

He said: "Studying with OU was like switching on a lightbulb."

James Chequers, a 32- year-old OU employee from East Grinstead, took ten years to complete his BSc honours degree. He said: "I am thrilled to have finally completed my degree."

The most popular degree was humanities, a mixture of art, classical studies, English language, history and music.

More women than men achieved degrees, with 482 female graduates compared with 247 men.

The exceptions were the MBA courses in business and commerce, where there were 54 male graduates and 16 women.

Among the graduates was a woman who failed her 11-plus but has now completed two degrees and a railway signal engineer from Kent who used his daily three-hour train journey to study.

It was the first ceremony under the leadership of the OU's new vice-chancellor, Professor Brenda Gourley.

She said: "As long as OU graduates' careers are enhanced and their personal lives improved then we have come some way to making higher education a right for all and not just for the privileged."