MORE than 2,700 soon-to-be-graduates and several inspiring individuals are set to visit Chester Cathedral this week as the University of Chester celebrates the achievements of its class of 2022.

Students will be joined by Paralympian, Claire Harvey MBE and leading UK actor and star of BBC TV series Call the Midwife, Stephen McGann who are both set to receive an honorary Doctor of Letters for services to sport diversity and inclusion and outstanding contribution to the arts, respectively.

Alongside them will be Joëlle Warren MBE, the founding partner of Chester-based firm Warren Partners receiving an honorary Master of Business Administration, Professor Henry Sun who will receive an honorary Doctor of Business Administration (DBA), Keith Skempton CBE who will be given an honorary Master of Business Administration for his outstanding contribution to the Cheshire Military Museum, Lady Rose Cholmondeley who will receive an honorary Master of Music for her contribution to the arts and Valérie Masterson who will receive an honorary Doctor of Music.

The University of Chester will host its graduation ceremonies across four days from Tuesday, November 1 to Friday, November 4.

Vice-Chancellor of the University of Chester, Professor Eunice Simmons, said: "We are looking forward to welcoming our latest graduates to celebrate their achievements in the majestic surroundings of Chester Cathedral. We congratulate them and will be supporting them as they embark on their careers.

"We are also very pleased to welcome distinguished individuals who have given so much to society and it gives us great pleasure to award them honorary degrees that recognise their significant achievements."

Valérie Masterson said of her honorary Doctor of Music recognition: "I am delighted to receive this prodigious honour, as having set off as a student born and bred in Cheshire and travelled the world it brings my career full circle and is the culmination of a dream fulfilled."

Stephen McGann said of his honorary Doctor of Letters: "As a child of Liverpool, I’m particularly proud and delighted to be awarded an Honorary Degree from the University of Chester. When I was a boy, Chester was a place I escaped to - full of the history that I loved. The Roman museum - the beautiful and ancient cathedral - somewhere where a bookish working-class child could dream and imagine places beyond himself. That’s where all good education begins; in travelling to new places that can challenge and spark passion. Chester was all of that, and it’s nice to come back and say thank you for what it has given to me."