SOPHIE Shakespeare has set her sights on breaking into England Hockey’s U18s team after winning gold at the Sainsbury’s 2015 School Games.

The Marlborough College pupil was co-captain of an England White side – one of three representing the country – who beat the likes of Scotland and Wales on their way to the title in Manchester.

The 17-year-old joined 1,600 other competitors over the weekend for the UK’s largest multi-sport event for elite level, school-age athletes.

“It’s my first Sainsbury’s School Games and it’s fantastic,” she said. “I’ve never been in a multi-sport environment before. I really enjoyed seeing all the other athletes, as normally in hockey we only see each other.

“I’d like to be playing in the England 18s, that’s my aim for this season, and then see how I can establish myself in that squad.

“I also want to play in the first team at Reading and make an impact for them.”

The Sainsbury’s 2015 School Games, which is supported by National Lottery funding from Sport England and delivered by the Youth Sport Trust, featured 12 different sports across four days.

Shakespeare, who lives in Lymington, was an integral part of her side’s success, as she finished joint top-scorer for England White with two goals, which included one in the 3-1 final win over Scotland.

The forward said: “It’s absolutely amazing to win here. We respect all the opposition that we’ve played and respect they’ve all come here on their merit and they are all good players.

“We were a bit of an unknown quantity as a team because we only just got this team together. But it’s great to play some fantastic hockey and get the gold in the final.

“It was a good final, we started really well and I thought our first half was excellent. We scored some great goals and in the second half there was a little bit less composure and the stroke that they got was slightly unfortunate.

“But we held it together and when we scored our third goal, it was game over.”

The Sainsbury’s 2015 School Games is supported by a range of partners including the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, Sport England, Youth Sport Trust, Department of Health and British Paralympic Association. The Games were held in venues across Manchester from 3-6 September 2015. Visit www.2015schoolgames.com for more information.