EIGHT thousand miles is a long way to go to college but these Winchester students from the Falklands Islands are still smiling.

The students at Peter Symonds' College found themselves being interviewed live on Radio Solent by Alan Jones, on their impressions of England.

Ever since the Argentinean invasion of the Falkland in 1982, students from the Islands have attended Peters Symonds' College as opposed to colleges in Argentina.

The Falklands has no provision for education after GCSE and Peter Symonds' is one of the only state sixth form boarding schools in the country. The students were quizzed on how they found life in England in comparison with the Falklands.

Anna Luxton, 17, said: "The first thing we noticed was the trees, because we don't have any at home.

"It's incredibly busy here and it can be quite difficult to hear even the birds at times.

"In Stanley, where most of us live, everyone knows each other and you can't get away with anything.

"It's quite strange when you walk down Winchester High Street and people don't say hello, as they don't know you."

The Falklands students make up nine of the 112 boarders at the college.

Sandra Showell from the college admitted that many of the A-level students found it a huge culture shock when they first arrived.

"The population of the college is larger than that of Stanley, the capital of the Falklands.

"But they go home every half-term and most of them know each other before they come here."

All but one of the students said that they would return to the Falklands after completing their studies in England.

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