A group of five of the college's lambs also took first place in the light lamb section of the Thirsk Christmas Fatstock Show.

The lambs were also named reserve champions at the show.

The lambs shown at the Hull show sold for £160 per head to a local butcher.

Similar lambs usually sell for around £70 or £80 per head.

The lambs were prepared for show by a group of the College's National Diploma Agriculture students, who were charged with washing and clipping out the animals.

Edward Mills, 17, was one of the learners involved with the preparations.

"It's great that the lambs won at the show and we're really proud," said Edward.

"It is fantastic that we get to take part in activities and events like this and that we have such a good college farm."

The lambs were out of a pure-bred Texel and sired by a Dutch Texel.

They were born in mid-April.

Farm manager Dominic Naylor believes the achievements show that Bishop Burton College is committed to producing top-quality livestock.

He said: "These fantastic results are the culmination of a year's worth of hard work by students and farm staff.

"The success demonstrates a significant improvement in carcass conformation of the lambs produced here at the college and the students took a real interest in selecting and preparing the animals for show which was very pleasing."

The lambs shown at Thirsk were prepared for show by agriculture
students Tom Harper, 17 and Mark Fisher, 19, under the close supervision of Bishop Burton degree student Will Fawcett and his brother Edward – both familiar faces on the showing circuit.

These latest successes follow a raft of improvements over the last three years in flock management at the college, including a new sheep facility which comprises 18 pens, each capable of holding 40-50 animals, with a large, dedicated lambing area and which is also built to enable mechanised feeding.