Last updated 19:26, Thursday, 20 November 2008

PUPILS from Cockermouth School navigated to seventh place in the British Schools Orienteering Championships.

ORIENTEERS: Cockermouth School’s squad: (back from left) Nathaniel Green, Michael Green, Ben Emerson, Chris Brand-Barker, Graham Hemingway, Douglas Tickner and Chris Hemingway; (front from left) Andrew Bradley (staff), Hannah Bradley, Katrina Hemingway, Heather Wornham, Rebecca Cummings, Esther Moore, Lewis Taylor and Margaret Mackenzie (staff)

And there was medal success for the school’s Year 11 boys’ team and Year 8 girls.

Eighty schools had qualified for the championships, held at Camberley, Surrey.

On the day, though, only 19 of the schools had at least nine pupils running – the minimum required to count in the team competition.

The best placed nine scorers took the Cockermouth team to overall seventh place, an improvement from the ninth place last year.

In the year groupings two medals were won.

The boys’ Year 11 team – Graham Hemingway, Ben Emerson and Nathaniel Green – secured the silver medal position.

And the Year 8 girls – Katrina Hemingway, Esther Moore and Rebecca Cummings – took the bronze.

Many great individual performances were also recorded in a competition that included most of the top juniors in the country.

Graham Hemingway was fourth in Year 11, with Ben Emerson close behind in ninth.

Chris Brand-Barker was fourth in Year 13, in a highly competitive group.

Katrina Hemingway had a great fifth in Year 8, with Esther Moore chasing hard in 17th.

Lewis Taylor placed well at 12th in Year 12, while Hannah Bradley took 15th in Year 9.

The event was also used as a selection race for the World Schools Orienteering Championships which will be held in Madrid early next year.

The results of the selection process will be announced over the coming weeks.