Four students at Bournemouth Collegiate School are forging ahead in the world of sport.
Liam Nixon, for example, has been chosen for elite training hosted by football grandees, Real Madrid. After tough trials, he was selected from a small number of junior premiere league representatives for a five-day elite level training camp at the Spanish giant’s training complex.
In addition to a number of sessions with Real Madrid coaches at the academy, Nixon will play two fixtures against Spanish professional academy teams. He is also one of 70 players across the country to be invited to the Dorset County U15/U16 trials.
In swimming news, Kayla Van Der Merwe won gold in the 100m breaststroke at the European Junior Championships in Kazan, Russia. The 16-year-old’s semi-final time broke a British age record that had stood since 2012, shattering her previous record by 0.60 seconds.
It was Van Der Merwe’s third medal of the championships, after claiming bronze in both the women’s 200m breaststroke and as part of the women’s 4x100m medley team. “I didn’t expect this gold,” she said, “as our focus is not on this meet, but on the world championships, so this win is simply awesome.”
From the archive: Headmaster of Bournemouth Collegiate School, Russell Slatford, highlights the important role swimming lessons play in students’ lives
Finally, two 16-year-old tennis players – Toby Samuel and Jack Pinnington-Jones – were selected to compete at Wimbledon 2019 in the junior event, with the former reaching the semi-finals of the men’s doubles.
