TWO teams from Darlington's Queen Elizabeth Sixth Form College have won places in a national swimming championships.

The teams will compete in the English Schools' Swimming Championships on Saturday, in Crawley, near London.

They won their places after competing in regional heats and clocking up times within the best 12 in the country.

The girls' team, including Natasha Crawley, Rachael Piggett, Lynsey Carveth, Hannah Fay and Carol Mohan, will swim in the medley and freestyle relays.

The sixth form boys' team, including Andrew Booth, Ryan Livingstone, James Carter and Mark Richardson, will swim in the medley relay.

The college has developed a reputation for excellence in swimming over the past few years, and has sent teams to the national championships since 2000, when the boys won a bronze medal in the medley relay.

The college's success reached its pinnacle in 2001, when the boys won the gold medal and became national champions in the medley.

Last year, the girls' team just failed to win a medal, but there are high hopes that both teams will be placed in the top three this year.