Barry Comprehensive School

Pupils from Barry Comprehensive School successfully competed in several School Gymnastic Championships over the summer.

Having won a gold medal at the County Tumble and Vault championships, year 8 pupil Joshua Harfoot was selected, along with his teammate Adam Tombs to represent Cardiff & Vale Schools Under 13’s team. Bradley Haysham won the silver medal, and was then selected to represent Cardiff & Vale Under 19’s team at the Welsh finals.

The school gymnastics team also participated in the Welsh Schools Floor & Vault Championships. The Under 13’s team of Joshua Harfoot, Richard Lewis, Keiron Mears, Jake Sparks, Adam Tombs, all competed for the first time in this competition and secured the silver medal. The Under 19’s team, Thomas Batte (Year 11), Adam Case (Year 10), Jamie Davies (Year 10), Andrew Mock (Year 10), Kyan Shorney (Year 13) also won the silver medal.

The pupils also competed at the Welsh Sports Acrobatic Championships. Joshua Harfoot and Adam Tombs competed for their first time in this gymnastic discipline of circus balances, tumbling and dancing. They participated in the Under 13’s Boys Pairs and won the gold medal. Thomas Batte and Kyan Shorney participated for the first time together in the Under 19’s Mens Pairs and won the Silver medal. Jamie Davies and Andrew Mock partnered for the second year, but their first time in the Mens competition, having gone up an age group and won a Gold Medal. Both pairs of gold medallists qualified to be part of the Welsh Schools Team competing at the British finals, in Stoke on Trent against the 12 other British regions.

The boys, consisting of all the pairs, also competed in an Under 19’s group Sports Acrobatics team for the first time ever and competed against some very experienced participants and finished with Bronze medal. They were selected alongside their World Gymnaestrada Team mates from Ysgol Sant Curig, Ffion Byrne and Emyr Byrne who had also won the Welsh Under 11’s mixed pairs.

During the British finals Ffion and Emyr finished in joint 3 rd position. However, due to Sports Acrobatics rules only 1 pair can gain the title and if there is a draw they have a countback system. The pair missed out on the British Bronze Medal by only 0.05 of a mark. Joshua Harfoot and Adam Tombs also finished in joint 3 rd position and missed the British Bronze medal by just 0.04 of a mark. The Mens Pairs, Jamie Davies and Andrew Mock who were competing for their 3 rd year at the British finals, also finished in joint 3 rd position and missed the British Bronze medal by just 0.03 of a mark.

Both the Under 13’s and Under 19’s Welsh Sports Acrobatics & Tumbling Teams came away from the competition with British Silver Team Medals.

Photo: Local gymnasts are a national success.