The Year 12 student flew out to Kobe in Japan over the Easter Holidays to take part in this international Karate tournament with the Samurai GB Team, and as a proud representative of Wales, and competed alongside 11-17 year olds from around the world.

Winning gold in Individual Kata, team Kata, Individual fighting and a bronze in the team fighting event, Sophie proved that the several hours training a week she undertakes have really paid off and all this on top of her current revision timetable for her AS levels in Chemistry, Maths, ICT and Geography. In fact, Sophie explains that karate can actually be an excellent source of stress relief and it must have been a stress free tour as the whole team brought home 4 gold, 3 silver, and 4 bronze medals between them!

Training for big events like the Kawata Cup takes place either at the Samurai squad training base in Hereford or nearer home in Welshpool and it’s a real family affair for Sophie whose parents Ennis and Paul joined her on her Japanese tour as squad coaches. Whilst in Japan, Sophie and her team mates were able to explore Kyoto with its Golden Temple and blossom lined streets and visit a ninja village, perfect for the girl who took up karate as a child because she wanted to be a spy!

Returning back to a busy summer term at Shrewsbury High School and to huge congratulations from her classmates, Sophie is not one to rest on her laurels and will be straight back to training for her next national tournament.