A BRIDGWATER student who is completing the International Baccalaureate at Bridgwater & Taunton College, has won a place and a financial aid package to study at a top US university.

Kate Bancroft, 18, will take up her place at Amherst College, Massachusetts this autumn.

Last year, Kate was one of 150 students selected for the Sutton Trust US Programme, which included a week-long trip to the United States to visit a variety of universities and meet admissions officers from colleges across the US.

They competed with over 1,000 applicants to win a place on the programme and spent a week staying in the dorms at Yale University, Princeton University or the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

Kate said: “I was nervous because I didn’t want to waste anyone’s time - I knew how competitive the programme was and so wasn’t expecting to be admitted.

“Luckily I was, and ever since then the college has been integral in supporting me.”