Last term, on a wintery morning with rain and sleet blowing horizontally across Hereford race course, John Kyrle High School student, Briony Bishop, claimed 5th place in the Herefordshire County Cross Country Championships ensuring her a place in the English Schools Cross Country Championships. The national championships recently took place at Wollaton Hall, Nottingham.

Only the top eight runners from each county in England qualify, which makes just getting to this event a huge achievement. The conditions on the day were perfect but the competition was tough. The start was like a stampede, with over 400 girls jostling for position. As they settled into their own pace to cover the 3.9km, Briony was mid field and finished in a tremendous 301st place, a fantastic day and a performance to be proud of.