STUDENTS from Carmel RC College in Darlington have been rewarded for organising a host of sporting events in the town.

The 17 youngsters from the school have just completed a two-year course to be awarded their British Sports Trust's Higher Sports Leader certificates.

Among the events they helped to organise to gain the award were the North Eastern Special Schools Cross Country Championships and the Darlington Primary and Secondary Schools Athletic Championships.

Most of the group also raised funds to enable them to spend a week in Lourdes, in France, working with a group of disabled youngsters.

Chris Hunt, the course moderator for the region, said: "These were some of the best candidates I have seen and they have achieved so much on their course."

Most of the students will now go on to study to become Community Sports Leaders.

The successful students were: Jonathan Brown, James Wiper, Jonathan Frank, Matthew Yates, Sarah Atkinson, Helen Green, Colin Langley, James Parkinson, John Dixon, Laura Scott, Marie Wright, Anthony McMaster, Claire Kilgour, Steven Gamble, Stuart Walton, Peter Gray and Danny Alessandro.