TWO mature students who excelled in Italian are celebrating their GCSE results, after finishing among the top five in the country.

Tracey Hodgson, from Stockton, and Tara Sellars, from Darlington, joined a GCSE Italian class at Queen Elizabeth Sixth Form College, Darlington, in September.

They said they were overwhelmed when they received their results last Thursday.

Mrs Sellars said: "I'm really pleased with my result - I can hardly believe it. I enjoyed every minute of the course."

In a letter to college principal Tim Fisher, Michael Cresswell, director general of the AQA Examination Board, congratulated the pair: "There were 3,342 candidates entered for this examination and so these are exceptional results.

"May I congratulate Tracey, Tara, you and your staff for such an outstanding achievement."

Enrolment sessions for this year's courses will begin next week, and adults who wish to find out more are invited to visit the college on Monday and Wednesday, from 5pm to 8pm.

A range of courses is on offer, from Italian, French, Spanish and German to IT.

Queen Elizabeth Sixth Form College is in Vane Terrace, Darlington. Further details of courses can be obtained by ringing 01325-461315 or clicking onto www.qeliz.ac.uk