A student at one of the UK's elite universities who stabbed her boyfriend with a bread knife has avoided prison.

Lavinia Woodward was given a 10-month suspended sentence. The judge had said in May that he might not impose prison time, which prompted some British newspapers to complain she was getting special treatment because of her connection to prestigious Oxford University.

The Sun tabloid wrote that she was judged "too brainy to be jailed.''

LAVINIA WOODWARD/FACEBOOK Lavinia Woodward, 24, punched and stabbed her then-boyfriend during an alcohol-and-drug-fuelled row.

Oxford Crown Court Judge Ian Pringle told Woodward there were many "mitigating'' factors that allowed him to suspend her sentence.

READ MORE: Aspiring heart surgeon who stabbed boyfriend in England may avoid jail because she's 'extraordinary'

"Principally, at the age of 24 you have no previous convictions of any nature whatsoever,'' he said. "Secondly, I find that you were genuinely remorseful following this event.''

LAVINIA WOODWARD/FACEBOOK Woodward is studying to be a heart surgeon at Oxford University.

He also said experts had concluded she suffered from a personality disorder, a severe eating disorder and dependence on alcohol and drugs.

The judge credited her with being "determined'' to get rid of her drug and alcohol addictions.

"Finally, and most significantly, you have demonstrated over the last nine months that you are determined to rid yourself of your alcohol and drug addiction and have undergone extensive treatment including counseling to address the many issues that you face,'' he said.

LAVINIA WOODWARD/FACEBOOK Woodward was described as an extraordinary talent who has had articles published in medical journals.

Woodward had pleaded guilty earlier to "unlawful wounding,'' which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison.

The incident happened on December 30. The judge said her boyfriend visited her, found out she had been drinking, and called her mother, which infuriated Woodward.

He said she then attacked him with a bread knife, stabbing him in the lower leg, before turning the knife on herself. He said the boyfriend intervened to prevent her from harming herself.