PERFORMANCE sport students from Duchy College Stoke Climsland have just returned from an action packed trip to Manchester on their annual sports tour.

The students spent five days in Manchester which included a tour of the National Football Museum and a visit to the National Cycling Centre and an hour-long lesson on the Velodrome and BMX track. The group were fortunate to catch the GB track team in training.

While on the tour the group were part of an atmospheric Manchester Phoenix Hockey fixture which went all the way to a sudden death shoot-out. They also watched Manchester United beat Cardiff City 2-0 at Old Trafford. The students then got their own adrenaline pumping with a 'skirmish' at the Manchester Paintball arena.

Nicola Isaac, a second year student on the sport BTEC extended diploma said: 'This was my second sports tour at Duchy College and they have both been very enjoyable. The tour is a very rewarding part of the course; it's a great opportunity to see sport in a city that is at the forefront of sporting excellence.'

Duchy College sport lecturer Ryan Lucas said: 'The students were really inspired by seeing elite athletes in a variety of different sporting settings. It has encouraged a lot of them to pursue their ambitions of competing and working at elite level in the future, which is fantastic. These trips are great for motivating and exciting the students into fulfilling their lifelong goals to compete, play or work in the fast changing sports sector.'