FOR St Joseph’s swimming team it was an early morning start as they headed to the prestigious venue of the London Olympic swimming pool to proudly represent the South West team in the ISA National Swimming Gala on Saturday, January 21.

With success that belies the school’s small size, St Joseph’s School made up a large part of the South West team having performed brilliantly in the regional qualifying event earlier in the year. All St Joseph’s pupils from Nursery through to Year 9 have weekly swimming lessons as part of their curriculum, and with the support of dedicated swimming coaches the school has produced some outstanding swimmers.

There was a great atmosphere at the pool and passionate support from pupils and parents who had also made the journey from Cornwall to cheer pupils on from poolside.

While there were outstanding performances all round, special mention must go to Peter Ray who won a bronze medal in the Year 8 Boys’ Backstroke and to Molly Barton who won silver in the Year 9/10 girls Individual Medley and also achieved one of the day’s best results with a gold medal and a national record for the backstroke.

Other results included: Hollie Shute: Year 4 Girls 50-metre Breaststroke – 6th place and as part of the Year 4 Girls 200m Freestyle team – 4th place; Olivia Shute: Year 5 Girls 50-metre Breaststroke – 5th place and 7th place in the Year 5 Girls 50-metre Backstroke; Year 5 Girls 200m Freestyle team which included Olivia Shute, Ella Shaw and Louisa Smith –5th; Thomas Greet: Year 7 50-metre Backstroke – 6th place and as part of the Year 7 50-metre Butterfly – 5th place; Chloe Smith: Year 8 50-metre Backstroke – 6th place

Headmaster, Oliver Scott, said: “Huge congratulations to all the those who took part in the event; for a small school to have such a number competing in a national event is exceptional and I am very proud of the whole team, and the staff who have prepared them with the skills and determination to do so well.

“It’s great to see Launceston making such an impression at the site of the 2012 Olympic Games. Well done to everyone involved.”