STONYHURST College is celebrating after nine pupils received offers from medical schools for the 2004 entry - the most in recent memory.

Eight of the successful students are from Year 13, representing almost 10 per cent of the final year pupils, with one who left in 2003 to take a gap year.

The pupils are Simukai Chigudu, 17, from Zimbabwe, and Isabella Lo, 18, from Southsea, who will study at Newcastle. Clare Doherty, 18, from Bacup, will go to St Andrew's, Scotland; Sean Knight, 18, and Mikail Weston, 18, both from Zimbabwe, are going to St George's, London; Strachan MacKenzie, 18, from Switzerland, has been offered a place at Imperial College, London; James Small, 17, from Ribchester heads north to Glasgow, while Claudia Worth, 18, from Germany, has been offered a place at Cambridge.

Mark Garcia, 19, from Gibraltar, who left last year, has received an offer from Bristol.