by Nicola Forman

A student has made it through the finals of Miss England.

Ezanne Redelinghuys from Sittingbourne is among just 13 hopefuls all wanting to be crowned Miss England 2009.

She was among 57 girls at the semi-finals held at Champneys health resort in London.

She wowed the judges including former Hollyoaks star Chris Fountain, current Miss England Laura Coleman and Elizabeth Lasker, founder and director of Ethical Fashion Forum.

The 20-year old had already got the judges vote in the photographic section of the contest.

This time round she had to parade in shorts and a vest top and answer a variety of questions from the judges.

She said: “The shorts weren’t very flattering at all. When we were interviewed by the judges it was very scary.

"We all had to wear an eco-friendly dress and had to explain about that and then talk about myself and my background.”

South African-born Ezanne moved to England aged nine, with mum Esther, dad Harry, brother Estiann, 23, and sister Lene, 16.

She proved an outstanding pupil, gaining 11 GCSEs and four A-levels in psychology, philosophy and ethics, media and business.

But although her studies and future career as a clinical psychologist are important to her, Ezanne is determined to add a beauty title to her already impressive portfolio.

She said she was absolutely delighted to be in the final on July 20. As well as the title, she’ll stand a chance of representing Britian in the Miss World contest.

She said: “It was absolutely terrifying, I really wanted to go home because I was so scared. I really didn’t expect to get this far, but now I have I really want to win. I know that if I don’t win though, I will have tried my hardest and gave it everything I’ve got.”

The two-day final will be held in London and Ezanne says she’s got a lot of work to do before then. “I’ve got to get sponsorship, raise money for charity and organise a gift to take with me to be auctioned.

"There’s a lot to do but I’m really looking forward to it.”