BRAINY school leavers in Worcestershire are proving to "be the best" after becoming the favourite choice of the Army's Intelligence Corps.

Worcester's Army Careers Office has placed so many college and school leavers in the corps it is now the UK's top recruiter for the unit - even beating the Army's flagship office in The Strand, London.

Clever teenagers in the county have proved so successful in aptitude tests for the corps it has now allocated a third of its total UK advertising budget to concentrate on Worcestershire.

C/Sgt Pete Elcock, of the Foregate Street careers office, said he was delighted with the exceptionally high levels of acceptance.

He put its success down to extensive work with schools to attract the right calibre of applicants, but said it also demonstrated the high level of education within the county.

"School leavers from Worcestershire really do seem to do exceptionally well in the tests for the corps, which are very rigorous," he said.

"I believe this is an example of the very high standards of education within the county, which was also backed up by the excellent A-level results.

"The corps now wants to attract more Worcestershire school leavers and has committed a large percentage of its advertising programme to Worcestershire alone."

He said although the Intelligence Corps was not as well-known or as popular with many youths, those in the service shouldered a great deal of responsibility.

"Military decisions are based on information gathered by the corps," he added.

"Therefore those serving in it could find themselves liaising with top military personnel relatively quickly, making it a very challenging role.

"But like all Army positions, it offers a superb life, an opportunity to travel and a number of other benefits including professionally-recognised qualifications."

Ray Westwood, principal inspector at the LEA, said the high acceptance rate was evidence pupils were being given a strong education.

"What is so pleasing is that it shows the skills being taught are transferable, meaning pupils can use them to form a career," he said.

"We do perform above our expectation at A-level standard which shows the strength of the LEA."