STUDENTS in the Kingswood area of South Gloucestershire will have one of the widest choices of diploma courses in the country next year.

Young people aged 14 to 19 will be able to choose from 14 new courses.

The Kingswood Partnership, which comprises six secondary schools and the Soundwell campus of City of Bristol College, has been given the go-ahead for four more courses from 2010. These are public services, retail business, sport and active leisure and travel and tourism.

The partnership, rated outstanding by Ofsted earlier this year, is already pioneering five diploma lines and will run five more from this September.

It is one of only five educational consortia nationally that has been approved to run 14 courses,

The partnership, which includes Mangotsfield, The Grange, Hanham, Downend, Sir Bernard Lovell and Kingsfield schools as well as Soundwell, will now work with appropriate local employers towards setting up the 2010 diplomas.

Ben Rose, of the partnership, said: "The purpose is to draw on the expertise of our partner employers to make the students' diploma studies dynamic, exciting and directly related to the real world experience of working in a specific employment sector.

"Employers have provided internships for Kingswood Partnership students and have been delighted by the commitment and outlook of our young people."