Hat-trick of golds for St Winefride's School
A Shropshire school is jumping for joy after landing a hat-trick of gold medals at the Independent Schools National Gymnastics Championships.
The day long event took place at Milton Keynes Indoor Arena and St Winefride's from Belmont, Shrewsbury topped the charts in three categories during a hugely impressive display.
Henry Sewell and Jack Males were crowned national champions in the under-11 and under-9 boys' events respectively while the under-9 squad also struck gold.
Sewell and Males triumphed after completing set and voluntary routines on the floor and vault.
Males' performances formed part of a stunning show from the under-9s that saw his team-mates Mikey Jones, Ollie Hughes and Ben Smith finish second, third and fifth respectively.
The under-11 boys came home third in their team competition.
The girls also caught the eye with the under-11s claiming silver and Martha MacDonald finishing fifth overall. In the under-9 age group, Stephie Edwards was sixth as the team took fourth place.
Coach Paula Curtis, who has worked at the school for 23 years, was delighted with the success.
Curtis said: "I am Immensely proud of them. There was a lot of hard work and preparation and we had been working towards this competition for a long time and it's nice to see that hard work rewarded.
"A lot of parents travelled down and supported the children and it was a fantastic day.
"We are now working towards the MISGA Championships in Lincolnshire in April. Hopefully, we can achieve some success in that competition as well."
Head of PE Richard Goody added his congratulations, saying: "It's nice to have this type of success. They have worked very hard and it's great to see that work officially recognised.
"Mrs Curtis has worked very had with the youngsters and this is a fantastic achievement."
