A TALENTED group of pupils from a primary school in Stonehouse competed in the County Match cross-country on the weekend.

Hopelands School pupils Alice Stevenson, Beatrice Morley and Jemima Ramsden from Year 6 and Phoebe Smart, Neve Field, and Jasmin Gilmore from Year 5 all did themselves proud in the race on Saturday, March 10.

With more than 100 children competing, Hopelands was delighted that every competitor from the school finished inside the top 50.

Francis Stuart-Menteth and Amy Jones achieved the qualifying time to compete in the race, however, being in Year 4, they were deemed too young to compete.

Mrs Jacky McQuillan, Head of PE at Hopelands was delighted with the achievement of her pupils.

“Many of the children running from other schools specialise in distance running and belong to middle distance running clubs around the county and are used to competing each weekend in these conditions," said McQuillan.

“I am truly proud of our all the pupils at Hopelands for the effort and commitment they have shown.

“It was an amazing achievement to be selected and then compete against the best of Gloucestershire’s children.”

During another exciting day for Hopelands the pupils excelled in the Fun Run on Thursday, March 8.

The school claimed the Small Schools Girls trophy and there were individual medals for Francis, Phoebe, Alice, and Jemima.

Hopelands star Amy Jones was awarded an individual trophy as her combined results put her to be in the top three.

This was a terrific achievement for her, as she missed the first two races by not being a pupil at Hopelands at the beginning of the season, and could only run in the last three races.

The surprise of the day was that the combined score for both boys and girls meant that Hopelands came second for the first time ever due to a great support from all the year four and five boys.