Ripon Grammar School athletics stars selected to represent North Yorkshire at prestigious national championships

Pip Robinson, Holly Nash and Beth Takieddine will travel to Birmingham on Saturday 10 and Sunday 11 July after earning places in the county squad following a season of outstanding performances.

Fellow athlete Simon Bordewich was also selected for the North Yorkshire team but has unfortunately been forced to withdraw through injury.

The talented quartet were among just 40 athletes chosen to represent the county, with selection based on performances at both the North Yorkshire Schools Championships and the Inter-Counties Championships.

Their success crowns a remarkable summer for Ripon Grammar School athletics, with students collecting county titles, championship medals and national qualification standards across a range of disciplines.

At the North Yorkshire Schools Championships in York, Ripon Grammar School athletes returned with an impressive haul of five county titles.

Holly Nash claimed gold in the 400m hurdles, Simon Bordewich won the 400m, Beth Takieddine completed a sprint double by taking both the 100m and 200m titles, Ollie Deavin secured victory in the 3,000m and Pip Robinson won the pole vault while equalling the championship record.

The school's athletes continued their strong form at the Inter-Counties Championships in Middlesbrough, helping North Yorkshire finish runners-up behind Northumberland Schools.

Pip won the junior girls' pole vault competition, Holly finished fourth in the senior girls' 400m hurdles, Beth collected bronze medals in both the intermediate girls' 100m and 200m, while Ollie finished second in the senior boys' 3,000m.

Simon was unable to compete because of injury.

Adam Milner, Director of Sport at Ripon Grammar School, said: “It is a tremendous achievement to have four athletes, 10 per cent of the total selected, representing North Yorkshire at the national championships.

"Every one of these athletes has performed brilliantly, not only at county level but also against some of the strongest competition in the region.

"Their success is even more impressive given the variety of disciplines they compete in, from sprinting and hurdles to pole vault and middle-distance running.

"These students are fantastic ambassadors for Ripon Grammar School.

“They balance demanding training schedules with their studies and consistently demonstrate determination, humility and a desire to keep improving.

"We look forward to cheering them on at English Schools and seeing what they achieve next."

For 16-year-old Holly, from Ripon, the selection marks another milestone in a journey that began as a long-distance runner.

"I started athletics in Year 7 as a cross country and long distance runner," she said.

"Then in Year 9 I moved to City of York Athletics Club and started to take hurdles and combined events seriously."

Holly, who also enjoys cricket, football, hockey and show jumping, faced an unusual challenge at the Inter-Counties Championships when she was required to run in a race on her own.

"It was very hard running on my own because it's difficult to judge your pace and you have nobody to push you," she explained.

Looking ahead to Birmingham, she added: "My biggest challenge will be racing people older than me, as I'm running against the year above, and the final 100m of the 400m hurdles is always tough.

"I would love to medal at English Schools and aim to qualify to represent England in the next few years

"They are big dreams but not out of reach."

Fourteen-year-old Pip Robinson's progress has been equally impressive.

Having taken up pole vault only two years ago, the Harrogate Harriers athlete has quickly established herself among the country's leading young competitors.

After clearing 2.80m at the North East Youth Development League in Shildon, surpassing the English Schools qualifying mark of 2.70m, she climbed to joint seventh in the UK rankings for her age group.

Sprinter Beth Takieddine has also enjoyed a standout season, emerging as one of North Yorkshire's leading young sprint talents after becoming a double county champion and adding two Inter-Counties bronze medals.

Meanwhile, although injury has ruled him out of the national championships, Simon Bordewich continues to build an impressive athletics résumé.

The 16-year-old, from Burton Leonard, is already a two-time national champion, having won the English Schools 300m title before securing a second national crown at this year's England Athletics Indoor National Championships.

Simon first discovered his passion for running through parkrun at Fountains Abbey and now trains three times a week at Leeds Beckett University while balancing athletics with rugby commitments.

His ambition remains firmly fixed on the future.

Although not selected for the English Schools' Track and Field Championships, fellow athlete Ollie Deavin has also enjoyed a breakthrough year.

The 17-year-old from Knaresborough, who only began middle-distance running two years ago, won county gold and Inter-Counties silver in the 3,000m.

A member of Harrogate Harriers, Ollie hopes one day to represent Great Britain and compete professionally, while also pursuing plans to study mechanical engineering at university.

Reflecting on his first experience of representing North Yorkshire, he said: “The competition was difficult because it was my first time racing for North Yorkshire.

"I could tell the people around me had more experience in these bigger races where position matters more than times.

“I was initially disappointed with my result, but it was a great experience.”

With three athletes now preparing to compete at the English Schools' Track and Field Championships and another selected before injury intervened, the future looks exceptionally bright for athletics at Ripon Grammar School.