Gifted and Talented... at St John's
Spot Light on....Annabelle Edmunds
This term we celebrate a Year 3 pupil, Annabelle, as part of our Gifted and Talented Showcase.
Annabelle started gymnastics as the age of two. She now trains at Tamworth Olympic Gymnastics Club as part of their ‘Elite Squad’, where her potential was spotted at the age of four.
Annabelle practices Artistic Gymnastics where she undergoes coaching on Floor, Beam, Bars and Vault. She is now recognised as a competitive gymnast as part of the British Gymnastics Organisation and will therefore be completing in her first gradings competition in February 2025.
Annabelle’s achievements include:
Birmingham City Invitational, where she achieved 1st in Vault and 4th overall.
In the Mill Open Competition she achieved: 2nd Beam, 2nd Floor, 2nd Vault, 4th Bars and 2nd overall.
Tamworth Competition 2023: 1st Vault, 2nd overall.
Tamworth Competition 2024: 1st Beam, 1st Vault, 2nd Floor, 2nd Bars and 2nd overall.
Annabelle is so passionate about gymnastics and trains for 10 hours a week during term time and 16 hours per week in the school holidays, as well as constantly practicing at home. Annabelle’s special talents and God given potential has recently given her the opportunity to meet and train with one of her inspirations – Olympic Gymnast Alice Kinsella, which was a dream come true for Annabelle.
WELL DONE ANNABELLE! We are all extremely proud of you!
Spot Light on....Georgie Watson
This term we are showcasing the amazing Georgie from Year 6. Georgie is a very talented horse rider. Her sport is quite a unique one as she takes part in Equestrian.
Georgie has won rosettes during competitions with fence heights ranging from 40 cm – 70 cm. She loves to ride her pony “Lahka” who is very strong and very fast. Georgie is also a proud sponsor for the Equestrian brand – The Equestrian Box, where she appears on their website and receives regular gifts from them.
All these achievements are results of the major hard work that she puts into looking after her horse. Georgie is up at 6 am everyday before school and at weekends to care for her pony and to allow both of them to perform at a very high standard. This level of outstanding commitment is allowing Georgie to achieve her God given potential and also compete at the very best level that she can.
This year, Georgie qualified for The Sunshine Tours. This is a competition featuring Dressage, Show Jumping and Eventers Challenge for juniors and seniors. However, Georgie isn’t stopping there! Next year, she hopes to qualify for the finals of the Trailblazers which is a very high level of Showjumping held over 5 days.
Well done, Georgie! We are all so proud of you.
Spot Light on....Ethan Pountain
This term we celebrate Ethan, our third child in our Gifted and Talented Showcase. Ethan is a talented swimmer in Year 5.
Ethan started his swimming journey in local classes from the age of 4, undertaking both swimming and lifesaving certificates. Ethan’s teacher spotted his natural gift for swimming and recommended progressing to a swim club. Ethan later joined Walsall Swimming Club and his dedication and talent has shone through. From the age of 9, Ethan started to compete at various galas, winning individual medals in freestyle and backstroke, contributing to his team’s promotion to the Nuneaton & District Junior Swimming League as well as achieving qualifying times for county swimming.
Last month, Ethan also represented St John’s at the Y5/6 swimming gala. Competing against 20 other schools. This resulted in Ethan winning every one of his races and contributing to a 3rd overall place finish for our boys’ team and an overall 7th place finish for the school in Walsall.
Ethan’s aspiration to represent his country reflects his passion and commitment to perfecting his sport. A huge well done Ethan!
We are all super proud of you!
Spot Light on....Drew Pattinson
This term we celebrate our second child in our Gifted and Talented Showcase – Drew from Year 6.
Drew started grassroots football at Under 7s, playing for Pelsall Villa and enjoying interacting with friends. During this time, he was scouted for trials with Aston Villa, WBA, Wolves, Walsall, Coventry, Birmingham City, Nottingham Forest and Manchester City. Drew then had to make a decision to either carry on playing grassroots football or testing himself at the next level and going into academy football. After getting a few contract offers from different clubs, he decided on joining Aston Villa (the club he supports). Drew has been at Aston Villa since he was six and is now into his sixth year there.
By training four times a week, playing games all over the country against top academies, and challenging himself against elite players nationwide, he aims to continue developing and improving as a player while still enjoying himself. Alongside this, Drew has also traveled to Poland taking part in football tournaments and winning tournaments versus teams such as Juventus and PSV.
We are all very proud of Drew and his journey so far and we are really looking forward to seeing where his footballing talents take him.
Well done, Drew!
