Three classical studies students from the University of Winchester will have the chance to expand their knowledge of the ancient world this summer after earning sought-after placements.

Chloe Cope-Clarke, from Sittingbourne in Kent, has been selected for a summer internship at the University of Cambridge.

She will live in one of the Cambridge colleges while she carries out six weeks of paid work in July and August as part of the Aspiring Researchers programme.

One of only eight students to be accepted onto the programme, Ms Cope-Clarke will be studying classical references in the works of Elizabethan playwright John Lyly.

The 20-year-old had to draw up a proposal for her research topic and go through an interview to earn her place.

She said: "I wanted to do something on renaissance theatre and I chose Lyly because there’s been very little work done on him."

Her dissertation is on a much better-known writer – Oscar Wilde ­– and his relationship with the classics in his life and work.

Amy Craig, from Maidstone, will travel to Greece having gained a place at the British School at Athens summer school.

Selected from more than 140 applicants, she will be given special access to ancient sites including the Acropolis, Delphi, Mycenae, Sparta and Corinth

One of 30 students accepted onto the course, she will spend three in Greece at the end of August and early September.

The 21-year-old said the trip will be a great help with her dissertation on the poet Sylvia Plath and her use of the classics, saying "it will be cool to see the places she wrote about”.

Meanwhile, Poppy Grand, 20, from Exeter, has secured funding to take part in the Belfast Summer School in Ancient Languages in July.

Due to other commitments, she will be learning Ancient Greek online and visiting archaeological sites in Italy.

She said: "My dissertation is on Athenian tragedy and knowing some more Greek will be useful when I am looking at translations of the plays."

Dr Polly Stoker, a lecturer in classical studies at the University of Winchester, said: "This is an exceptional cohort of classical studies students - and I am so proud of these three.

"They are excellent ambassadors for the programme, the university, and the subject."