A pupil from St Mary's College has landed a national trampoline title just two years after taking up the sport.  12-year-old Laura McLaughlin finished in joint top place in the under 13 girls section of the British Schools Championship, held at Cocks Moors Woods Leisure Centre in Birmingham.  She shares the title with two other girls - from Bodiam in East Sussex and Bacup in Lancashire - as the judges were unable to separate them after a very close and hard-fought competition.

Laura started trampolining for fun with her sister in the school holidays a couple of years ago. After getting the trampolining ‘bug', she was encouraged by Ray Jones of the local Jump Zone club to start entering competitions.  Thanks to her skill and commitment, Laura performed well in regional schools events and has previously finished in the top six in the national competition.
 
St Mary's College Head of Girls PE, Sally Foster, who travelled to Birmingham to watch Laura in action, commented: "This was a fantastic performance by Laura and I was absolutely delighted to be there to see it.  Thanks to sheer hard work and determination she has not only achieved her goal of becoming national champion, but also done so in double-quick time."
 
Laura says she would like to thank Ray Jones and Wendy McKenzie of Jump Zone, and the staff at St Mary's, for all the support they have given her over the past two years.

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