A WINCHESTER college is celebrating a boost to the number of medics training in the country as more than 50 of their students were offered places on university courses.

A total of 52 Peter Symonds College students heading off to university in September have been offered places to study medicine, while six students have places to study dentistry and six students have been offered places to study veterinary medicine.

Principal Stephen Carville said: “Places on courses such as medicine, dentistry and veterinary medicine are notoriously difficult to obtain and so I am thrilled that the hard work and dedication of these students has paid off.

“With approximately 5,000 medics starting in the UK every year, a staggering one per cent of all new trainee doctors nationally went to Peter Symonds College.”

Biology teacher Julian Foster added: “These students have done exceedingly well. Their diligence and motivation has carried them through an extremely rigorous selection process with a demanding set of entry requirements and we wish them every success with their future studies.”