OLYMPIC silver medallist Kate Howey is to bring celebrity glitz to next week's launch of a new super-college for west and north Wiltshire.

Judo star Kate, who is based in Bath, delighted sport lovers when she battled through to take the silver medal in Sydney, missing the gold medal by just two points.

She will join Rugby World Cup referee Ed Morrison to mark the official merger of Chippenham, Lackham and Trowbridge colleges on Wednesday.

The opening of the Wiltshire College will be marked by the planting of three oak trees at Lackham College, between Chippenham and Lacock.

The first inaugural college Foundation Games will also be held, with teams from all three colleges taking on each other at football, netball, rugby and hockey.

The new college will become one of the biggest employers in the area, with more than 1,000 staff working at the three centres, which will have a combined budget of £22m.

The new college will continue to operate on the three separate sites but will have one principal, George Bright.

He said: "The benefits of the merger are that we can share best practice and the strengths of all three colleges."