Matthew Osborne, a year nine student at St John's School & Community College, has been selected to attend an England Hockey High Performance Camp (HiPAC) at Lillishall Sports Centre.

The centre is a flagship residential training venue and an award winning National Centre of Excellence for many of the UK's top sportsmen and women.

This camp is a pathway for young talented hockey throughout England.

The HiPAC selection arose when Matthew, a member of Marlborough Hockey Club, was selected to represent the West of England playing four other regions.

Matthew falls into the under 14 age group and will be playing with players from the other four regions of the country.

The camp will be led by England performance coaches, which will include ex -internationals; they will learn new skills, make new friends and experience what international players do at training camps such as training, workshops and match play.

Matthew also plays for the badger's team at Marlborough Hockey Club where 3 players are adults and the rest are juniors. This has helped a number of the young players at the club and Matthew is no exception. The Wiltshire badger's league is a really good way for youngsters from the age of 13 to 16 to progress to adult hockey.

This is a tremendous achievement by Matthew and something he will enjoy and look back on in the future as a big success in his potentially brilliant hockey career.

Richard Holman from Marlborough Hockey Club, said "Matty has worked extremely hard at his game and always seeks for ways to improve. He really deserves this chance to play with the best players at his age group in the country."