STAFF and students at Holy Cross College are celebrating being named one of the top ten colleges in the country.

With the release of A-level league tables last week, it was revealed that the college is the eighth best in England and Wales. It is the second year in a row that the college has been ranked eighth out of 419 post-16 colleges.

Topping the table is Greenhead College in Huddersfield, which was also the best college in 2006.

Holy Cross College saw its best ever A-level results last summer, when the overall pass rate was 99 per cent and a record-breaking 11 students gained places to study at Oxford and Cambridge Universities.

More than half of all the results (54 per cent) were A and B grades, with the number of A grades rising from 22 to 26 per cent compared to 2005.

Principal Mike O'Hare said: "We are absolutely delighted with our position in the A-level performance tables, with Holy Cross being ranked as the eighth highest performing college in the country. These outstanding achievements reflect the hard work and dedication of staff and students, and the emphasis that Holy Cross has placed on raising levels of achievement."