Within hours of ripping open their GCSE results letters, hundreds of teenagers formed a queue snaking down London Road hoping to enrol at South Thames College, Merton.

An unprecedented number of students showed up at the first opportunity to get a place at the college last Tuesday, with staff estimating approximately twice as many people registering compared to the first enrolment day last year.

A South Thames College spokeswoman said: “Enrolment got off to a fantastic start with nearly 1,000 people attending the first session at the Merton campus alone.

“We are really pleased that so many people make South Thames their first choice and all staff are working extremely hard to cater to students needs and make the process as smooth as possible.

“We will continue to enrol students over the coming weeks and have many places on courses available so come down to find out more.”