A LEDBURY student appeared on one of the UK's most popular television quiz shows.

Lara Gardner was part of a team from Oxford Brookes which lost a tight first-round match on University Challenge.

This was despite achieving a ‘fantastically impressive score’.

The team of John Manton, Lara Gardner, James Broadbent and David Caldecott faced Birbeck, University of London.

Despite leading for much of the contest, the Brookes team came away with 205 points to Birbeck’s 220.

READ MORE: Tesco Clubcard customers urged to use points in August

Miss Gardner, who is reading for a degree in human biology, is part of a quiz society which qualified to be part of the show.

She said: "I am still in my first year at university so this was an incredible and unexpected opportunity.

"We all prepped before going on the show, with some of the prep involving old episodes and testing how we performed against the teams.

"Although we didn't win, I am so proud of all my teammates and absolutely loved the experience. We all get on really well and gel together as a team."

Miss Gardner said the experience of being on the television programme was not as scary as she expected.

She said: "When we got there, everyone was so lovely and made us feel really at ease which was brilliant.

"They explained how everything worked and when it was time to start I can honestly say I felt pretty relaxed.

"Despite not winning, us getting that far and having the experience of going on television is unforgettable."

Miss Gardner joked about how frustrating it was to not get a question about Taylor Swift correct as she loves her music.

She said: "It was so frustrating as I knew the answer but the other team was just too quick to the buzzer."

READ MORE: Restaurant to make way for convenience store in heart of Ledbury

New quiz master Amol Rajan told the team at the end: “Back luck guys, that was a fantastically impressive score."

Miss Gardner also said she was thoroughly enjoying her time at Oxford Brookes University.

She said: "I am still only in my first year but I have loved every minute so far.

"It has given me so much more than just the education and exciting opportunities like this."