THE West Somerset Community College in Minehead has received an award for a programme encouraging students to think about going to university.

The college has been promoting its Aimhigher programme over the last three years and now more students than ever are applying for places at university.

The Aimhigher programme enables students to find out about what it is like to go on to higher education by visiting a university and working with degree-level students.

Last month a group of Year 10 students visited Exeter University thanks to funding from Aimhigher.

In previous years, residential visits have been made to Plymouth University and guest speakers have been invited to talk to pupils about such topics as finances and what it is like to live away from home.