By Marie Nee

Blessed William Howard student, Ella Shaw (13), won a Bronze medal at the Welsh Summer National Swimming Competition in Swansea in the 200m Freestyle swim in the 14 years age range.

With a time of just 2 minutes 14.12 seconds, Ella secured her own personal best, shaving two seconds off her time at the Scottish Nationals in Glasgow and making her number one for her age group rankings in Staffordshire.

Ella is also now ranked number 25 in Great Britain for her age group.

Ella said: “I am delighted with this result, it is a great to have a reward for the effort I have put in! I have really trained hard all season with lots of early mornings and late nights.

"This has all been made possible thanks to the support of my high school, Stafford Apex and the Royal Wolverhampton School.

"I’d also like to thank my friends and give a big ‘thank you’ to my mum and dad who spend many hours taking me to training and swim meets all over the country.”

Karl Brown, Principal at Blessed William Howard, said: "Ella is a shining example to all our students. She should be very proud of her fantastic swimming success and we will continue to support her however we can.

"We wish Ella the best of luck with her swimming future and congratulate her on her remarkable achievements to date."

Picture caption: Ella Shaw with Karl Brown