BRATTON teenager Ellie-J Webb is delighted to have an international kit to call her own, after earning a place at the British and Irish Schools’ Championships in Dublin a week on Saturday.

The 15-year-old Matravers School pupil, will compete for England on July 20 after claiming silver in the inter girls hammer at last weekend’s national schools championships in Birmingham.

Webb threw a new personal best of 46.44m, which puts her third on the UK rankings for U17 women, and said: “My coach (Ken Holmes, at Team Bath) gave me a Great Britain jacket to wear and he told me to live up to it – but I can give it back now.

“When I put on my England kit it felt amazing because I thought ‘I’ve earned this’. I’m really looking forward to the international.

“I never thought that I was going to come as far up as second last weekend. I get quite nervy at the start of competitions and my first few practice throws went into the net, but after that I threw really well.

“I did discus at the schools championships last year but that’s not really my event so I didn’t do very well. This year was a lot better and I really enjoyed it.”

Webb’s was one of six Wiltshire medals at the Alexander Stadium.

Bradford on Avon’s Grace Davies-Redmond clinched silver in the inter girls 300m hurdles and was presented with her medal by her dad – former Olympic 400m runner Derek Redmond.

The Wiltshire girl clocked 43.75 seconds, carving 1.5secs off her previous best, and will join Webb in Dublin next weekend.

Also there will be Enford’s Nikko Hunt, who took gold in the inter boys pole vault and Godolphin School’s Sophie Merritt, who won the the inter girls’ shot for her third successive title.

Marshfield teenager Loren Bleaken won her second English Schools’ Championships title – and was named in the Great Britain team for the European U20 Championships this week.

Initially overlooked following a below-par performance in the trials, the 17-year-old Hardenhuish School pupil nudged the selectors with a fine victory in the senior girls’ 800m in Birmingham on Saturday.

It was enough to get her a spot in the team, alongside current number one and gold medal favourite Jess Judd.

“I am so relieved that I have been picked and just so happy,” said Bleaken.

The championships, in the Italian city of Rieti from July 18-21, will be the biggest competition in the teenager’s career and her first overseas championships.

The event’s real surprise medal was the silver won by the senior girls’ sprint relay squad of Sophie Hay (St John’s, Marlborough), Emily Dixon (St Augustine’s), Bleaken and Abi Davis (Clarendon).

“All us are from Team Bath AC so we had a little practice on Friday but that was all, so it was a great result,” said Bleaken.

“It was between us and Middlesex and they just pipped us but everyone was really happy to win a medal.”

St Augustine’s School’s Dixon ran her second fastest 100m hurdles to just miss out on the medal in fourth.

meanwhile Devizes School’s Emily Hutchinson, from Bowerhill, had the third best throw of her career for fourth in the inter girls’ shot.

Wiltshire retained the inter girls’ C counties’ trophy they won for the first time last year and picked up the senior girls’ C trophy and C counties’ aggregate trophy.

County team chief Tim Whiting said: “They were an exceptional group to team manage. I cannot speak highly enough of the qualities of this team.’’

Representing Avon since she moved from St Laurence School to Bath College, Hannah Grubb, from Hilperton, won silver in the senior girls’ pole vault.

In her final appearance in the event the 18-year-old equalled her season’s best of 3.50m to add silver to the gold she won two years ago.

There was also silver for Winsley’s Eliza Reid, also representing Avon, in the senior girls 200m as she clocked 24.56.

  • Additional reporting by Kevin Fahey