2012 Oakbank

Oakbank’s Next Top Writer As part of a House

competition, Aire House Leader Mr. Tomes was looking for students to take part in a 200 word fictional challenge.

Innovative and creative writers were encouraged to write a ‘mini’ story starting with one of the following sentences and

using no more than 200 words.

‘Suddenly it went dark…’

‘He/She stood perfectly still and held his/her breath…’

One winner was decided from each key stage and they were:

Key stage 3: Natalie Stone 8OS – a winner for WORTH

Key stage 4: Jonathan Corcoran 10RS – a winner for WORTH

Key stage 5: Katherine Harris 13AH – a winner for OUSE

Well done to all those who entered, the standard of entries were very high which

ultimately made it very

difficult to decide on a

winner. The winners

received £25 worth of gift vouchers each and had their

stories published on the school website and in the school magazine.

this issue

Festival of Science

Big Deal

Steve Cram visits Oakbank

Oakbank School's KK relay has

been a biennial event at the

school for over 15

years. Students run from

Kirkcudbright in Dumfries and

Galloway, Scotland back to

school in Keighley in a relay and

aim to do it in under 24 hours,

this includes throughout the

night. Around 20 students are

chosen from those who put

themselves forward and

training for the relay began

last week. The students run

along quiet B roads with staff

driving and cycling alongside

helping to keep them safe,

watered and motivated.

Story continues on p2... 

World Book Day

World Book Day this year was March 1st 2012, and as well as the usual competitions to write stories, design bookmarks and promote reading this year the older students had the opportunity to download the first ever World Book Day app for smartphones. As part of the celebrations at Oakbank, the LRC decided to hold a “GRUB QUIZ”. 

 

For this one special day, students who had entered a team into the Grub Quiz were allowed to bring their drinks and lunches and eat them in the LRC while taking part in a book-based quiz on the whiteboard. 

 

Five teams took part in a hotly contested race to the finish and at the end only the tie-break question separated them, much to the delight of the Year 7 team who had faced teams of much older students. 

 

Everyone had a fantastic time, and to finish off Ms King had prepared videos of book trailers and other quirky book-related online things to watch. 

 

Just pipping the others at the final hurdle, winners S.I.K.H. and runners up The Sticky Moshers.

continued from page 1…

The KK Relay is not only a

great sporting achievement for

the students of the school but

a fantastic way to raise money

for the Manorlands Hospice in

Oxenhope and Bradford

Nightstop. Over £3500 was

raised in 2010 and we are

hoping to exceed that amount

this year. Local Keigh-

ley businesses Aire Valley Cy-

cles, Andrew Firth's Uniforms

and Staff wear and Ogden's

Fibres have also sponsored

the event, the money from

which will be added to the

charity total. Our recent fash-

ion show organised by Calista

Whitaker in Year 11 has al-

ready raised over £500 and

this is a great start. 

Olympic medalist and BBC

Sports Presenter, Steve Cram

MBE recently visited the

school and lent his support to

this event.

He said: 

“This relay takes on some

of the toughest terrain in the

UK on quiet B roads and is

supported by a crew of staff

in minibuses and on cycles,

keeping the students safe,

fed, watered, clothed and

m o t i v a t e d

throughout the

event. This is

an admirable

cause and a

t r e m e n d o u s

challenge. The

students will gain a once in

a lifetime experience,

where staff and pupils

come together as one

team with immense cama-

raderie and spirit. The

experience will no doubt

have a positive influence

on those involved and en-

courage the students to

recognise and realise their

true potential. I wish stu-

the students the best

of luck in this challenging

relay, I'm certain that with

plenty of determination they

will succeed." 

“The students will

gain a once in a

lifetime experience”

The S Club this school year has gone from strength to strength. We have had more students through the door (147 to date) and have a vast array of entertainment on offer. This year we have introduced chess to certain students and more recently we have 4 boys who play draughts every lunch time with lots of intensity and fun. We also have a serious Uno corner where lots of students enjoy playing against each other.

We try and have a weekly quiz which students have an input into the subject matter. This year we had a design an Easter egg cup competition which was judged by Mr Maxwell the head teacher. He was very impressed with the entries. At Christmas we had a party with old fashioned games like “Pin the tail on the donkey”.

The kids loved and enjoyed

it all. Some boys and girls

even had a trip out for the

day at Bolton Abbey and

got soaked in the rain.

students, but on regular occasions more turn up. Before the yearend we will have at least 15 students who will have been more than 100 times, some going on 150.

Amanda and I feel the S Club is a fantastic way for year 7 students to relax at lunch time whether it is by drawing, playing games, listening to music or just chilling with friends they already have or new ones they have met at the club. We are always open 5 days a week for 30

S Club 2012

The club is in a safe and secluded part of the school so year 7 students can enjoy the activities in a friendly environment. Lunches can also be eaten in the club. We are keen for students to unwind but also have strict rules and boundaries in place so everyone can relax and feel safe. Because of this year’s success James who helps will take on the very first year 8 lunchtime club, leaving Amanda and I to look after the new intake of year 7 students.

Wild Camping 2012

When we suggested wild camping to next years new Year 12 and this years current Year 12, we thought that big scenery, fresh air an a well deserved break after the stress of exams. July came around and eight pupils and two staff members set off with heavy packs – tents, sleeping bags, cooking equipment – the destination, the Lake District for 2 days in the heart of the wilderness.

We arrived at Walna Scar Road just above Coniston just as the heavens opened but we were undeterred. Waterproofs on, we hiked into the camp and several hours later we arrived at a beautiful lakeside and pitched our tents for the night. Still hungry for more we set off up the fells for an evening walk to take in the stunning views the Coniston Old Man. The rain held off for the evening until back at camp where we cooked outdoors at 11.00pm but it tasted even better because of the rain. Next morning we all learnt a few more wild camping skills as our mountain guide taught us the eco-friendly way to camp and leave nature as you found it.

Yet more rain for the walk back into civilisation but spirits in the group were high as we looked forward to a fish and chip lunch and plan-ning our trip next year!

On Friday 30th March some of our students completed the Sport Relief Mile in their PE lessons. They raised an amazing £1254.33 for charity through sponsorship and the buying of wristbands.

A special mention should go to Cetera Mulholland (8NS) who raised a fantastic amount of £102.50 and Johnny Tanner (8IH) £100.

Oakbank Sports Relief Mile

Millennium Development Goals Debate

On Thursday 29th March, a self-selected

team of Year 13 Geographers and Miss Bradford visited Leeds

University to compete in an inter-school Sixth Form debate on the

United Nations Millennium Develop-ment Goals. Our task

was to perform a presen-tation in front of an audi-ence of teams from other

schools of whom we were competing against,

on why our particular goal was the best out of the eight. Our team con-

sisted of Luke Fleet-wood, Owen Whelan,

Jay Sheppard and Jonjo Robb. Rob Cruikshank

and Katy Hart came along to provide moral

support. Our team’s performance was

outstanding, and we achieved a close third place after voting was

carried out by the other teams and

representatives of the

Leeds Development Centre Management Team. The overall

feeling within the room was that we did indeed have the best argument

however, it wasn’t to be..

This year’s Year 11 Leavers’ Prom took place at the Bradford Bulls, Grattan Stadium. The event was attended by more than 220 students and a

wonderful time was had by

all.  

The hall was filled with beautifully dressed young people: the lads looked immaculate in their shiny new suits whilst the girls were a

stunning vision of colour and

sparkle. The dance floor was packed all evening and the atmosphere was fantastic! The event was a most enjoyable

celebration of the end of

Year 11 and was a credit to all involved.  

This year group has always been a delightful bunch and will be much missed at Oakbank. We wish them all the success they deserve! 

At Oakbank we use Accelerated Reader to encourage our students in Years 7 and 8 to read for pleasure and to track the improvement in their reading as they progress. Recent studies have shown many advantages for students who regularly read for pleasure, those who are still doing so at 16 are more likely to be in managerial positions by their 30s for example. For those who have found reading a struggle, regular reading for pleasure im-proves their skills and for those who read a lot, it helps to ensure they are not skimming the story and enhances their ability to focus on the detail and read for meaning.

All the students sit a short online test which will ensure that they are reading at the most suitable level for them, although this will be refined once the children become better known as readers. They then choose books from their level in the school library and within two days of finishing a book they take a fun, short quiz about the book they have read. The aim is to achieve at least 80-85% on each quiz and if they have read the whole book re-cently this is easily done.

Accelerated Readers become millionaires!

Food Technology News

After completing the three year GCSE Food Technology Course, during which time students worked with a range of materials learning new skills and knowledge, students Gemma Kounas and Abigail Hart choose to raise money for Manorlands. The two girls successfully planned, organised and ran a mini-enterprise exercise making a selection of cakes and biscuits.

 

On 26th April 2012 Oakbank School ran a charity fashion show fundraising event for

Manorlands Hospice. The Fashion Show fundraiser was a charity event to help

promote and support the running of the KK Relay. Three talented Year Eleven

students created the fundraising idea of a catwalk-based fashion show in school to

showcase their talent in a way that would raise the largest amount of money.

The pupils led and worked closely with a small staff team to organise every detail of

the event on Thursday evening.  

 The event was a hugely successful event raising over £550 for the Kirkcudbright to

Keighley Relay 2012. Thursday was attended by over 150 people to watch the

spectacular catwalk event and take part in a little shopping with goods provided by

various retailers from the local area such as Harriet's Clothing, The Chocolate Box,

The Bodyshop and Phoenix Cards.  

Year 10

Geographers at Sladen Beck 

 

The Year 10 GCSE Geography students are beginning their Con-trolled Assessments, which count for 25% of their GCSE. This involves collecting data from a local stream (Sladen Beck), near Stanbury. One of the 3 groups carried out their field work on Wednesday, 27th June. The weather held out, and the students worked hard to gather lots of relevant information. A further two groups will go out on 9th and 10th July. Upon their return to the classroom, the students will analyse and write up their findings.

 

The Oakbank's Got Talent fundraiser was a glittering suc-cess on Thursday 1st March 2012, raising over £500 in to-tal. With hundreds of tickets sold in the days leading up to the spectacular evening it was certainly a well-supported event with cheering crowds and vocal support for all the acts throughout the final. In total there were fifteen acts advanced to the final by the judges, after two days of audi-tions the finals acts represent-ed the finest comedy, dance and singing performances from a wide range of students. In a final that was closely-fought it took the Judges some time and difficulty to draw to-gether the final four. Each Head of House chose an act that stood out from the others. Ms. Pickard chose Callum Stevens whose impressions and comedy routine drew gales of laughter, although not the promised impression of Mr. Maxwell, perhaps a wise move. Mr. Tomes chose Pink Attitude and Mr. Hill chose Emily Shepherd, also chosen was Jess Nash after impress-ing Mr. Moules with her cover

The final winner was cho-sen by the audience who made a great deal of noise for each contestant. The winner of the first prize, £100, was Emily Shepherd for her excellent perfor-mance, and second prize of £50 was scooped by the popular impressionist Callum. Congratulations to both of them for their hard work, preparation and per-formances. After a wonderful evening the Heads of House were keen to thank all the staff and student volunteers who had worked hard behind the scenes, the contestants themselves and the audience.

Top: Dance act Pink Attitude

Above: Winner Emily

Shepherd

Below: Runner up

Callum Stevens

Goodbye Year 13

Year 13 joined the growing tradition of cel-ebrating the end of their Oakbank journey in fancy dress. We had police escorting prison-ers, a couple of men in uniform, builders, nurs-es, and even a shark attack. Harry Potter, Snow White and Where's Wally ap-peared alongside Luigi and Mario to name but a few.

On a more serious note, our Year 13 students have faced a very challenging year and have a tough set of exams ahead to finish their A-levels. Students have applied to universities all around the country and a num-ber are aiming to go into employment and apprenticeships. We will be celebrating the end of exams at the Year 13 Prom, but it has been a real pleas-ure working with them and we wish them all success and happiness in the future.

A group of year 11 students successful-ly achieved the ICT European Comput-er Driving License qualification in April, the qualification is nationally recognised and equivalent to a B grade at GCSE, The students attended an intense two week programme at Keighley Innovation Centre, they learnt many ICT skills using Microsoft Office 2010 software. Throughout the two weeks the students worked extremely well as a group and supported each other in gaining the qualica-ton. Students demonstrated proficiency in ICT and confidence in using the soft-ware.

ECDL!

Through attending the course one student has recently gained an ap-prenticeship in training for an IT Tech-nician. The students were a credit to Oakbank School and set standards for the course to be offered to other Bradford Schools.

the software. Through attending the course one student has recently gained an apprenticeship in training for an IT Technician. The students were a credit to Oakbank School and set standards for the course to be offered to other Bradford Schools.

Oakbank students have once again been busy read-ing to choose their own win-ner of the Carnegie Prize and writing reviews on the official Awards Shadow-ing website. On Friday 15th June, at a celebration lunch in the Learning Re-sources Centre, the stu-dents who had taken part, discussed what they had been reading and voted on their own choice for winner.

After much heated debate, their

winner was 'Trash' by Andy

Mulligan, although 'Between

Shades of Gray' by Ruta

Sepetys was a close second.

At the end of the lunch Ms. King, the LRC Manager, announced the winner of the official Carnegie Award - 'A Monster Calls' by Patrick Ness. The students enjoyed the Shadowing Scheme enormously, and were delight-

from the librarian at a school in Somerset complimenting their books reviews, and describing the work of one of the Year 10 students as 'beautiful and thought-provoking'. "We're thrilled that the students have enjoyed it so much, and that we've had praise from almost the other end of the country." said Ms. King, "We're hoping to look at other innovative ways to continue reviewing throughout the year from September

As part of ‘Stop the Clock Day’, in which the usual curriculum was suspended and all students took part in a range of cross curricular and citizenship activities, forty Y9 Art students created nine large banners based on the official London 2012 artwork. Each banner displayed a pictogram of a sports person, the official logo, the Olympic rings and the Olympic ideals: courage, friendship, determination, excellence, equality, re-spect and inspiration. The banners, painted on sheets, will temporarily be hung from the ceiling of the school hall and the sports hall until the end of term, in the run up to

Y10 English Students - Radio Broadcast with Jam-Radio. 

Six Year 10 students were involved in a different kind of speaking and listening exercise for their

GCSE English Language subject in January this year. Oliver Watson, Will Wilkinson, Harry Milner,

Nick McKniff, Robson Jackson and Brandon Lund visited the studios of Jam-Radio where they were

interviewed as the main characters of John Steinbeck’s ‘Of Mice and Men’.  

This type of speaking and listening exercise has never been accomplished before as a radio

broadcast and counts towards the students’ final GCSE grade. Their English teacher, Mrs. Shelagh

Deeney, played the part of the main interviewer: 

"This was a really enjoyable session on the novel, 'Of Mice and Men,' producing some excellent

responses. The interviews were completely spontaneous and unscripted, so the ideas and

understanding expressed by the students are completely their own. Many of these students lack

confidence in English but really did themselves proud here; their knowledge of the novel shows real

sensitivity and insight. Being able to use the recording facilities from JAM Radio was a real privilege

and the students learned such a lot about the workings of a radio station during our visit. Just

brilliant!" 

The broadcast is a fascinating insight into the characters of the book. The students exhibit their

knowledge of the characters whilst the interviewer asks questions to try and gain a sense of what life

is like on an American ranch in the Depression of the 1930s. Well done to all those involved! 

June 28th saw the twelfth annual Art Exhibition staged by Oakbank’s Art Department. Each year the exhibition has grown with work being displayed throughout the whole department, corridors and school gym. Portfolios of work from over sixty GCSE and A level students were on display for parents of the students involved, the general public, guests and parents of next year’s Y7 pupils to see. On entering the school gym, which was completely full of work, there were many exclamations of ‘Wow’ from students, parents and staff alike. It was a wonderful opportunity for students to show off their work and take pride in their achievement from two years of hard work.

Now in it’s ninth successful year, the buddy scheme was set up especially to help the Year 7 students settle in to school life at Oakbank as ‘painlessly’ as possible.

The buddies are made up of Year 10 students who have volunteered their time and undergone training, involving listening skills and team building. They are equipped with the ‘know how’ to offer practical support, a friendly face and be approachable to your child in the formative days and first term of Oakbank School. They have attended both the Induction Day and Evening and will be around on the first day of term and during the occasional registration and tutor period after that.

Unlike the staff, who may not remember as easily the first time they started secondary school, the Buddies do have a better working knowledge of what it’s like on the corridors at break, of not knowing where to go for each lesson, of what to do if you forget your lunch or worse, your homework! The Buddies are there not to discipline or judge, but help allay any fears a new student has or any rumours they have heard – no matter how big or small.

As a school we are always looking to actively encourage our students to

‘aspire’ to achieve their very best now and in the future. We have worked

closely with York University and the Brightside Trust for a number of years,

helping our students to aspire to higher education from early on in their

education, not just when they reach the Sixth Form.  

Every year York University set a twelve week challenge called the “Big Deal”

to teams of pupils from schools across the North of England. This is based

around developing a business enterprise idea into a full business plan. During

their time developing this project, pupils work closely with a leading business

mentor through a business blog and are also expected to complete set tasks

each week working together as a team. The “Big Deal” culminates with a

grand final where over 100 teams compete in a ‘Dragons Den’ style

presentation of the idea. Four teams are selected to go through to this grand

final, where the finalists present their concept to an audience of all the schools

involved in the project. A panel of leading business representatives decides on

the overall winner and the prize for all this hard work is a trip to present the

business plan to senior management at Google head offices in New York! 

In 2011 we entered three teams of Year 9 and 10 pupils into the competition

and were exceptionally proud of all the students who took part and the

immense efforts they put in.  

We are delighted that Oakbank became the overall winner this year with our

team of Year 9 girls; Louisa Baxandall, Charlotte Bowen, Charlotte Wood, and

Lucy Walsh. Their business plan centered on the development of a plush bear

stuffed with technology that could be used in schools to help combat bullying.

The pupils’ product concept, “Bully Bear”, received rave reviews from the

judges at the “Big Deal” final in York and went on to receive further accolades

from the management team at Google in New York, who thought the students

had a very viable, well-researched business idea. Their concept also featured

on the regional BBC news programme “Look North”.  

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Oakbank pupils got some `fast talking’ on March 7th this year from sports legend Steve Cram.

The former Olympic athlete and 1,500m and 2,000m world record holder joined our students to discuss his

record-breaking sports career as a track athlete and how effort and determination leads to success.

Steve Cram came into school in his role as a sports ambassador for Yorkshire Bank’s West Yorkshire

Financial Solutions Centre (FSC), Bradford and spoke to 125 sports pupils in Years 7 to 13.

Deputy head teacher, Sarah Luffman, said: “Our school mission statement is `progress and achievement for

all’. Meeting ordinary people, who have done extraordinary things like Steve Cram, inspire our pupils to be

the best that they can be. Our thanks go to Steve Cram for sharing his story with our students and to York-

shire Bank for providing the opportunity for them to meet him.”

Before meeting our students, Steve Cram met an invited audience of local business people at Yorkshire Bank

West Yorkshire FSC, Canal Road, Bradford, and spoke about his career and how similar qualities are re-

quired to be successful in sport and in business.

Steve Cram, who is also a sports commentator, was BBC Sports Personality of the Year in 1983 and won an

Olympic silver medal in Los Angeles the following year. He is also chairman of the English Institute of Sport

and became chancellor at Sunderland University in 2008, where he gained a BA (Hons) degree in 1983.

After the school visit he said: “It was great to meet the pupils and staff at Oakbank School. It is essential that

children are helped to get involved in sport at an early stage and to keep them engaged as part of develop-

ing a healthy lifestyle. It was great to see how much this school does to nurture young sports talent.”

Andy Davidson, managing Partner of Yorkshire Bank West FSC, said: “We’re grateful that Steve gave up

time in his busy schedule to visit Oakbank School as the young pupils were thrilled to meet a genuine

sporting hero. The lunchtime event with local businesses also went well. There are lots of parallels between

being successful in sport and in business including leadership, tenacity and team work and the business

people certainly enjoyed his talk.”

As part of ‘Project 51’, 21 Year 11 students went to Hebden Hey for a weeks residential in February.

Hebden Hey is a scout hut set in the valley near Hardcastle Craggs.

The students undertook an extensive programme over 4 days, completing the BTEC level 2 Extended Certificate in Sport, which is worth the equivalent of 2 GCSE’s.

The average day started at 7.30 in the morning and finished around 5.30 at night.

In addition to the educational value, the students gained experience in a range of skills varying from catering, problem solving, organising, social skills, working together as a team and communicating effectively with their peers.

The trip was an experience that will be remembered, by both, the students and the staff.

One student commented ‘I have really enjoyed my time at Hebden Hey. I have learnt lots of new skills and developed my knowledge and understanding of a variety of topics in sport. It is a career that I would like to pursue when I leave in Year 11. I feel I now the self belief and confidence to develop my passion further’.

Throughout March, the University of Leeds ran its annual Festival of Science. The festival is designed to allow school students the opportunity to explore parts of science which related to their programs of study.

On Thursday 8th March, the Geography department was delighted to host 5 PhD students in room 395 for a Year 10 workshop on Climate Change. Students were able to ask questions about how climate change will alter our lives. Ice cubes were used to demonstrate the

Room 395 turned into a climate change

On Wednesday 21st March, a selection of 30 dedicated Year 10 Geographers traveled to the University of Leeds Campus where we were offered the chance of working on some highly advanced climate modeling software. This was a fantastic

geographers and environ-mental experts to experience degree level work. Thanks to Miss Lee and Ms. Robertson for accompanying the trip.

Sohail Ali and Sohail Khan analysing rock

On Thursday 21st June Miss Finlay and Miss McNally took most of their English classes on a trip to Haworth - visiting the Main Street, Bronte Parsonage, St Michael and All Angels Church and graveyard, finishing with a walk on the moors to the Bronte Bridge.

Nuala Carroll produced this report on the trip:

It was raining heavily, however the downpour did not ruin anybodies’ mood. When the Parsonage opened our group was the first to visit. From the outside the building has lots of windows and it looks to be almost a rectangular shape. It has very old Yorkshire stone giving the building a deep character. It is easy to understand how they created so many stories there.

There were four rooms for us to visit on the first floor. The first one we entered, on the left, has a table with four chairs and on the table are small old fashioned books, pens, paper, all of which the Brontes would have once used. In the right corner is the red couch where one of the Bronte sisters died.

On the staircase is a portrait of all three Bronte sisters, Charlotte, Emily and Anne. Originally the portrait included their brother Branwell in it, however he was removed and you can still see the outline where he had been. Upstairs there is a room in which some of the remaining Bronte belongings are displayed. There is a dress, shoes and long socks, all of which Charlotte had once worn. It shocked me to see how little the clothes were.

Next, we visited the graveyard. It is very old with a lot of stones covered in moss, water and dirt. The atmosphere seemed almost eerie and I could imagine that the Brontes may have found their inspiration for the dark parts of their novels here. Inside the Church we saw a plaque which told us the Brontes were buried underneath.

Oakbank qualified for the West Yorkshire Games with a fantastic performance in the Bradford "Super 8's" Athletics competition. The students compet-ed in a host of track and field events win-ning the Boys 100m, Boys High Jump, Girls & Boys Relay and Mixed Relay.

The Oakbank squad:

After, we wandered down Main Street and intended to go for a visit to the Bronte Bridge, however the torrential rain ruined our plans and we did not complete all the walk and turned back at Penistone Hill. I could not help but wonder; on days like this, were they the most creative of times for the Brontes?

Tegan Knappy

Kemmie Smith

Emily Cox

Mia Themistocleous

Sabah Ashraf

Kayleigh Crichton

Olivia Chester

Amy Manning

Tom Mawer

Alex Baker

For over 15 years, Year 11 students have taken part in a Mock Interview with an employer. Every year over 30 employers from various lines of work such as the motor trade, finance, health, the law and the armed forces have given up their own time to come into school to interview students in a mock interview. The preparation for which includes the writing of letters of application and CVs. This is designed to equip them with the necessary skills for entry into the working world and give them a taste of what it may be like to have an interview; the types of questions that may be asked, feedback on their CVs, appearance and other relevant factors which may affect their success in an interview situation.

One of Oakbank School’s former pupils, Ross Pearson was present at this year’s Mock Interview sessions representing his company Clough & Co, chartered accountants. In Year 11, as a pupil at Oakbank, Ross was interviewed by a representative of Clough & Co, which went very well indeed. After his interview, he applied for a job and was successfully accepted as an employee of the company and has worked there ever since! He remembers how nervous he was before his Mock Interview and helped put the students at ease when he came back as an employer.

A local bank manager

interviewing a Year 11

student

One of our students being

interviewed.

Employees from

Sainsbury’s in Keighley

came to interview

Oakbank students.

Ffion Myers, who

was first in the

under-13 girls'

singles and third in

the under-14 girls'

singles .

Oakbank School’s Table Tennis Club have enjoyed success as three players have qualified for the national championship finals. They came through regional qualifying for under-11s to under-14s at Keighley Table Tennis Centre.

Ffion Myers, aged 12, and Joel Bhowmick, aged 10, both excelled. Ffion was first in the under-13s and third in the under-14 girls, showing great attacking skills. She played two highly-ranked players in exciting contests, losing narrowly by the same score in the final fifth set.

The score stood at 9-9 as the more experienced players Imogen Barber, ranked No 4 in England, and Kate Nixon, ranked No 6, overcame her 11-9. Ffion bounced back to finish third in the under-14 girls.

Joel demonstrated his potential by coming second in the under-11s and under-12 boys' singles.

William Nash, aged 12, was not at his best but still worked hard to secure the fourth and final qualification place in the under-13 boys. In the under-14s, he is first reserve after finishing fifth. The trio are now preparing for the national finals at Walsall on June 4 2012.

The Table Tennis Club have enjoyed success as three players have qualified for the national championship finals.

They came through regional qualifying for under-11s to under-14s at Keighley Table Tennis Centre.

Ffion Myers, aged 12, and Joel Bhowmick, ten, both excelled.

Ffion was first in the under-13s and third in the under-14 girls, showing great attacking skills.

She played two highly-ranked players in exciting contests, losing narrowly by the same score in the final fifth set.

The score stood at 9-9 as the more experienced players Imogen Barber, ranked No 4 in England, and Kate Nixon, ranked No 6, overcame her 11-9.

Ffion bounced back to finish third in the under-14 girls.

Joel demonstrated his potential by coming second in the under-11s and under-12 boys' singles.

William Nash, aged 12, was not at his best but still worked hard to secure the fourth and final qualification place in the under-13 boys.

In the under-14s, he is first reserve after finishing fifth. The trio were preparing for the national finals at Walsall on June 4.