A HEREFORD student who has dreams of being an English Rose came away with a gold medal in the School Games.

Hannah Howl, from Credenhill, competed in netball at the national tournament for the Severn Stars development team.

Following four days of intense competition at Loughborough University her side beat Mavericks 32-20 in the final.

The 15-year-old who attends St Marys RC High School and is also a member of the Cheltenham based Hucclecote Netball Club also reached the Under-16 National Finals earlier this year.

Her mother Rebecca Howl said: “It was an amazing weekend and an absolute fantastic four days of netball.

“The girls played three or four games a day in different pools to get through to a final against a squad from London.”

The School Games saw 1,400 athletes compete across 11 sports, five of which include disability disciplines.

The event was aimed at giving young people, across a variety of different sports, an experience of high-level competition in a multi-sport environment similar to an Olympic or Paralympic Games.

Hannah plays as a goalkeeper for the development programme side which is seen as the platform for bigger squads.

“She is the last bit of defence and back of the game so can control what happens in front of her so makes calls so her team-mates are in the right place,” added Howl.

The youngster who started playing netball at 10 years old was scouted while playing for Hereford netball team and was given a trial with the Severn Stars aged 14.

“She was placed in the Cheltenham performance squad to help her along the way,” added Howl.

“She would love to be an English Rose and is on the pathway to it but there are only a tiny amount of spots.

“Last season she trained four or five times a week and was playing for different squads at different levels travelling thousands of miles a year to play the sport.”