A YORK school has congratulated former pupils on getting a hat-trick of places at Cambridge University.

Sam Jackson, Alice Julian and James Freeman, past pupils at the Minster School, are Cambridge-bound after getting conditional offers to study at the top-flight university .

Sam left Minster School in 2000 and is now heading for Selwyn College, Alice gained an academic and music scholarship to Queen Margaret's, Escrick, and has been offered a place at Peterhouse College, and James, who left to go to Bootham School, has secured a place at Sydney Sussex College.

Minster headmaster Alex Donaldson said: "The whole staff are extremely pleased by these results.

"Having taught all three of these young people, I am glad that the good start they had at The Minster School set them on the road to future success."

Updated: 11:34 Wednesday, February 02, 2005