FIVE students from a Darlington college have won prizes for their history essay writing skills.

The James Barningham competition is organised by Darlington Education Authority and is open to all GCSE and A-Level students in the town.

The aim of the competition is to promote interest and excellence in history studies.

Five of the students from Queen Elizabeth Sixth Form College who entered the competition win prizes.

Mark Tallentire, who is now studying modern languages at Newcastle University, won a top prize of £85.

Jonathan Collinson, who is studying for A-Levels in English language, general studies, history and media studies, also picked up a top prize.

The other Queen Elizabeth prizewinners were Daniel Smith, Richard Hogg and Ben Tait.

Head of history Bill Stuart said: "The standard was extremely high. I am delighted that so many of our students entered and were successful."