Champion archer Iulia Petre recently represented Great Britain in World Cup competitions in France and Germany.
Sixth Former Iulia, who only took up the sport three years ago, is an accomplished archer and she has been ranked 7th in the world in her U-21 age category.
Her qualifying score in the Berlin competition was just a fraction off the European Juniors record. She said: ‘You have to make the top 32 to qualify and then go head to head with your opponents. I got to the quarter finals in Berlin and tied in the match that would have got me into the medal rounds. In the resulting shoot-off my opponent won by millimetres. In France I also got through to the quarter finals but was beaten by an Italian competitor but I did win a prize of a metal release for my bowstring.’
Iulia, who is studying A Levels in Sport, English Literature and Language and Art, is applying to university but will take a gap year to work on her archery. She said: ‘I am hoping that if I take a year off to train I will have a competitive edge. My favourite university is Loughborough but I have looked at studying abroad as well. I want to do a psychology degree, although my dream is to be a full time archer.’