Olympic diving hopeful Valentina Marocchi, from Italy, is one of several new arrivals from the Continent who have started at a York school.

Valentina, 16, is a member of the Italian National Diving team and qualified during the summer for the Sydney Olympics.

Unfortunately, the Olympic squad was already full and Valentina, who is from Bolzano in the Italian Alps, was told she would have to set her sights on the Athens Olympics in 2004 instead.

She said: "I was a little bit sad when I was told there was no room in the squad and thought maybe coming to England would cheer me up."

Valentina has just started in the sixth form at Huntington School and is studying English language and literature, art and drama.

But every evening after school she travels to Leeds International Pool where she continues her diving training with a coach from the British national diving team, and on Sundays she trains in Sheffield.

Valentina said she would like to take part in the Athens Olympics, but after that would like to study English Literature at university.

She said: "Diving is not the most important thing in the world."

She is one of nine European students who have started at Huntington this term, from Germany and Italy.

From Germany are Florian Sonntag, Annalena Skawran, Susanne Kehr, Florian Sommer, Ruth Fischer and Theresa Fessler and from Italy are Vladimir Zavrel and Serena Venza.