CEREMONIES begin today (Tuesday) to recognise the 4,000 new graduates at the University of Hertfordshire.

Ex-England goalkeeper David James, from WGC, will be among those graduates heading to the Cathedral and Abbey Church of St Alban this week, as he is one of 16 pillars of the community to receive honorary degrees from the Hatfield uni.

Others honoured are Larry Elliott, Tony Marchant, Jan Harlan, Prof John Burland, CBE, Jean Monteiro, Howard Burrell, Dr Wang Kim Ha, Dr Steve Stott, The Rt Rev Christopher Foster, Naomi Simmons, Philip Mayo, Fateh Singh Bhinder, Iain Nicolson, Prof Thom Hanahoe and Dr Paul Robinson.

Philip Waters, secretary and registrar said: “This year our honorary awards are recognising one of the UK’s most respected goalkeepers, Mr David James, the former Bishop of Hertford, The Right Reverend Christopher Foster and award-winning playwright and television dramatist, Mr Tony Marchant.”

He added: “For the university, this is always a special time of year as people travel to St Albans from all over the world to take part in this celebration of academic success. To minimise the impact of the extra traffic, we encourage our visitors to use public transport and we are running a shuttle bus service for them from Butterfly World in Chiswell Green, which we use as a park and ride for those who travel by car.”

The ceremonies finish on Friday.