STUDENTS from Cambridge University will be visiting schools in the Stockton area of Teesside today to encourage more youngsters to think about higher education.

Under the Excellence Challenge programme, a group of 17 students from King's College, Cambridge, will talk to pupils from schools and colleges about the benefits of going to university.

The initiative, by Excellence in Cities, is designed to widen the amount of students applying for university.

Keith Robinson, director of Excellence in Cities, said: "This is a great opportunity for pupils to hear first hand accounts of what life is like at Cambridge University.

"This widening participation element of the Excellence in Cities project aims to encourage more young people to go to university, especially those who have never particularly thought about it.

"There are also many very able young people in Stockton who have the potential to get into the very best universities, including Oxford and Cambridge."

The schools and colleges being visited by the King's College students are Egglescliffe, Conyers, Thornaby Community, St Patrick's, Norton, Blakeston, Bishopsgarth, Our Lady and St Bede, Northfield, Stockton Sixth Form, Grangefield Technology College, Bede Sixth Form, Ian Ramsey, St Michael's and Billingham campus.