HARD WORK has paid off for ten talented students from the Thomas Hardye School who have been offered Oxbridge places.

The pupils have been offered places to study at the prestigious and highly competitive Oxford and Cambridge Universities in a very successful year for the Dorchester school.

Headteacher Mike Foley said: “These offers have been made as a result of much hard work from the students, and expert advice and guidance from teaching staff during the two-year Oxbridge programme, which is part of the futures provision at the Thomas Hardye sixth form. “In addition to aiming for the highest grades, students on the programme have been challenged to undertake extra reading and extra-curricular classes to extend and enrich their knowledge. “They have been coached to perfect their interview technique and have met with admissions tutors from both universities.”

Lauren Jones, Matthew Lawson, James Canning, Stacey Newlin and Katie Neame have their sights set on studying at Oxford while Fergus Johnson, Fionn Bishop, James Roe, William Powell and Imogen McConnell will be heading to Cambridge.

The school has also seen 314 students who have made applications through UCAS progress to university after their A-levels, including Ellie May Tate who has an offer to study veterinary science and seven students applying to study medicine. In the past two years over two hundred students have secured places at the competitive leading universities known as the Russell Group. Mr Foley said: “Students at the Thomas Hardye Sixth Form receive the correct guidance when selecting their choice of A-levels to ensure the most appropriate progression for them. “At a time when the government is concerned about the teaching of Maths at secondary level, five of the successful Oxbridge applicants have applied to study either Maths or Maths and Physics. “Expert teaching in the Maths department has enabled them to compete with students internationally for these places and to pass the rigorous entrance exams expected in Mathemat-ics.”

Last year the Thomas Hardye School celebrated its best ever A-level results, while it has also been working to cater for all possible career paths for its 370 Year 13 pupils.