A teenager who is incredibly passionate about healthy eating has achieved the UK’s top A level mark for OCR in food, nutrition and health.

Sophie Moseley, who left Haberdashers’ Monmouth School for Girls last summer, has won a Drummond Education Award from the British Nutrition Foundation for her outstanding result of 95%.

This is a great result after two years’ sustained study.

The charity awards prizes each year to the pupils who score the highest marks in each board’s papers.

It’s the second time an HMSG girl has achieved this accolade, with Chloe Newman winning in 2012.

Sophie, 18, said: “I was really excited and happy when I found out I’d won.

“I wasn’t aiming for it. I wanted to do well, but I never thought I would do that well!

“Food and nutrition is definitely not all about cooking – it’s about understanding what food is made of, how it affects the body, and what to eat to avoid diet-related health conditions.

“I just really enjoy the subject as a whole. I always looked forward to the lessons. If you understand something, it’s much easier to enjoy it.”

Sophie gained an impressive 381 out of 400, an A* in the subject.

She continued: “The practical side was never my forte but I loved the academic work. There are so many things you can do with it.

“You can become a nutritionist; advising people what they should eat based on their individual needs.

“I like working with people and something like that would be so worthwhile.

“More people need to know about how different foods affect them. There are so many diet-related health issues. Being a nutritionist, I could be doing my bit to help improve the health of the nation.”

Sophie, whose food and nutrition coursework focused on why students gain weight when they start university, also took A levels in biology and history.

She plans to study food science and nutrition at university next year.

Home economics is taught by Jo Vickers, Sean McCluskey and Nyree Clayton at HMSG, with each of the staff bringing their own expertise and industrial experience to the lessons to make this a real team effort.

Mrs Vickers said: “I knew that Sophie was capable – I was so proud of her when we found out.

“Sophie is hard-working and determined and enjoyed the combination of the academic challenge and the practical application of the knowledge gained to real life scenarios.

“She has a passion for the subject and I am thrilled to hear Sophie is going on the read nutrition at university.”

Sophie and Mrs Vickers attended an awards ceremony at the Royal College of Physicians in London on November 22 where she received her prize from Princess Anne.