Hedingham School pupil Sophie Rice has qualified for the regional finals after coming third in the Essex Level Three Gymnastics competition in Colchester.

The 15-year-old, from Great Maplestead, excelled in the floor exercise to gain a silver medal.

She said: “I didn’t really expect to do so well as I fell off the beam, but, everyone found that really difficult so I was still able to get a medal.”

Rice trains with the Colchester School of Gymnastics and has been involved in the sport since the age of six.

She now trains three times a week over ten and a half hours on top of studying for her GCSEs The regional finals will be held in Ipswich later this month.