PUPILS are on the path to success after they proved to be among the best thinkers in the country.

Richmond School and Sixth Form College students Adam and Josh Dixon, Harold Raven and Matthew Masterman were among 132,000 students nationally to take part in the Bebras Computation Challenge.

They achieved scores that put them at the top of their year groups, and were among 49 classmates who qualified for the next round, the TCS Oxford Computing Challenge.

This competition, which takes place in March, is among the toughest in the country, where students must use logic to solve problems and break codes against the clock.

Harold and Matthew have been invited to the Oxford finals in January and February where they can tour the university, take part in workshops and meet lecturers.

Teacher Susan Thornton said: “To have 49 students in the top 10 per cent of all students eligible for the next round is testament to their hard work and we are extremely proud of Harold and Matthew for being invited to the Oxford finals."