Latest news from young stars
A group of talented sailors were part of history making national success last weekend.
Ewan Luke and Zac Blomeley, together with brothers Eddie and Kevin Farrell, were part of the Welsh side that won the prestigious 2016 RYA Eric Twiname Championship held at Rutland Sailing Club.
The quartet, who are part of Llandudno Sailing Club, played a significant role in the success by securing second and third places respectively in their class events - the boys RS Feva XL.
The Eric Twiname Championship, which is celebrating its 30th anniversary, is one of the largest events in the sailing calendar and includes racing for Optimists, Toppers, RS Feva XL and several wind surfing classes.
By competing hard in all of these classes, sailors from across Wales managed to bring both the Dinghy and overall Championship Trophy home to Wales.
Mr Boyd, said: “This is fantastic news and congratulations go to the four pupils for achieving such phenomenal success.
“They have all begun the season in terrific form, and the sky is the limit in terms of how much they can achieve if they continue their remarkable development.
“We are very lucky to have a great deal of talent here, which is a testament to how hard both our pupils and staff work on improving their skills.”
Martyna Ruszkowska, aged 15, was part of the Welsh squad at the Irish Open Swimming Championships, which took place in Dublin.
Despite competing against vastly more experienced opposition, Martyna reached seven semi-finals and five finals, achieving a runner-up medal in the 400m individual medley.
Thanks to her superb effort, she is now ranked number five in Great Britain in the 50m butterfly and sixth in the 400m individual medley as she looks to gain further national honours in the future.
Martyna said: “The competition was high as the age groups were open so it was possible that you'd be racing against 25 year-olds. There were competitors from all over the world from as far as Canada and Pakistan.
“Overall I'm very pleased with the results. Having achieved personal best times in almost all events I'm hoping to qualify for the British National Championships in the summer.”
This is the latest in a long list of accolades for the pupil, who swam at the British Swimming Championships and the Sainsbury’s 2015 Schools Games in Manchester last year.
Mr Ruszkowski, added: “Martyna has worked tremendously hard leading up to the Irish Open, and we are delighted with her results."
Dawn Jones, a sports coach at the school, achieved a hole-in-one at a competition held at Rhos on Sea Golf Club on Wednesday, April 27.
The seven handicapper shot the ace on the par three 18th hole, to ensure she finished her round on three-under-par.
This is the latest in a long line of success for the coach, who picked up no fewer than nine trophies from the Rhos on Sea Golf Club presentation night last season.
She won the club’s Order of Merit, club knockouts, GUW Medals and monthly medal and stableford competitions.
Dawn was also selected to the Denbighshire and Flintshire team for the first time, while also receiving a call-up to the North Wales squad following her exceptional performances.
In addition to her success on the course, Ms Jones has also recently completed her Level one golf coaching qualification in the hope of inspiring the next generation of players in the region.
The talented golfer is no stranger to sporting achievement, having earned a national hockey squad selection for Wales in her younger years.
Year 10 pupil Imogen Camp produced another stunning performance to claim the U15 girls’ section at the UK Chess Challenge’s Cheshire and North Wales Mega-Final.
The Wales international, who finished 14th out of 60,000 competitors at last year’s event, went unbeaten in her six games throughout the day and the 15 year-old will now move on to one of two national semi-finals later this year.
This was not the only school success on the day, with a host of Prep School pupils reaching the next stages after impressing considerably at the showcase.
Year 2 pupil Fleur Roberts won the U7 Girls category after playing some superb chess, while Harry Buttle won the U9 boys’ event thanks to a stunning final game triumph.
Mr Camp, said: “A total of nine qualifiers out of 14 players represents our biggest success in a mega-final.
“Several of these pupils received compulsory chess lessons in Year 2 and this is now clearly paying dividends.
“We hope for more in the future as children in our school now all receive compulsory chess lessons in both Year one and two.”
It has been another standout year on the chess board for Imogen, who has competed at the World Youth Championships in Greece and has also been chosen to represent the Wales women’s squad at the upcoming World Olympiad.
The UK Chess Challenge is the biggest chess tournament of its kind in the world. This year, over 50,000 children from all over the UK entered.