A WINCHESTER college is celebrating a unique achievement of 70 of its students.

Peter Symonds College Sports and Enrichment Department has marked the accomplishment of those pupils who have qualified for the Association of Colleges (AoC) National Championships, to be held in Nottingham in April.

The 70 students form the largest representation from any college in the South East by a considerable margin.

The championships are a celebration of competitive sport in colleges, providing recognition, enjoyment and a unique opportunity for students to compete.

They also remain the largest annual student sporting event in the UK, with nearly 1,800 college students taking part last year.

AoC Sport member colleges qualify to represent their region at the Championships through regional tournaments, hosted throughout the autumn term.

As well as competing in their chosen sport, students compete for points for their region. The region whose teams and individuals accumulate the most points wins the prestigious Wilkinson Sword trophy.

Samantha Jones, Head of Enrichment (Sports Teams) and Sports Co Ordinator at Peter Symonds, said “Peter Symonds College has a strong tradition of sporting excellence and the capability to send 70 of our students to compete in the AoC National Championships reflects both the sporting talent of our students and the support and time our staff devote to sport at the College.

“We are dedicated to ensuring that as many students as possible have the opportunity to compete in the sports they are passionate about at a national level and we are excitedly looking forward to celebrating their achievements at the Championships in April.”

Students from Peter Symonds will be representing the College and the South East in the following sports:

Women’s Cross Country (three students)

Men’s Cross Country (three students)

Men’s Golf (three students)

Women’s Golf (one student)

Men’s Rugby Team

Men’s Tennis (three students)

Men’s Volleyball Team

Mixed Hockey Team

Women’s Badminton (two students)

Women’s Tennis (two students)

Women’s Volleyball Team

The AoC National Championships will take place at Nottingham University from Friday April 24 - Sunday 26.

This year’s Championships will once again be run in partnership with Nottingham Conferences – the event delivery arm of the University of Nottingham.