TALENTED young hockey player Charlotte Graham dreams of representing her country in the sport having been selected to train at an elite level.

Fifteen-year-old Charlotte, from Wylam, Northumberland, has secured a place on the England Hockey u16 girls’ team having shown great aptitude for the sport at school, club and county levels.

The Year 11 student has already attended one training session with the England squad and has a second training weekend in December.

“I was invited to try out for England in October and was so happy to be selected,” said Charlotte, who is studying for her GCSEs at Dame Allan’s Girls’ School.

“The squad currently has 36 girls and it will be reduced to 26, so I hope to train well enough to remain part of the team and be able to represent England in a match.”

Charlotte was first introduced to hockey when she joined our co-educational Junior School, at Hunter’s Moor, in Year 5.

Within a year, she had joined the JPC junior hockey club in Newcastle and played her first season of ladies hockey there when just 13-years-old.

For the last four years Charlotte has also played hockey for Northumberland County. She has taken an active role at the Academy Centre and latterly the Performance Centre as part of England Hockey’s player pathway.

In August, Charlotte was selected to play in England Hockey’s Northern Pennine Pumas u15 girls’ team, competing in the Futures Cup against squads from Wales, Scotland, the Midlands, South East and South West.

Will Scott, Principal of Dame Allan’s Schools, said: “Charlotte’s impressive hockey journey is the very reason we like to introduce our pupils to all types of sport in the Junior school, so their talents can be identified and nurtured from a young age.

“Charlotte is a dedicated and talented hockey player and we wish her every success in the sport going forward.”

Charlotte is one of a number of talented youngsters here who have been selected to train and play at a national level in their sport. These include Sixth Form students Charlie Smith, who secured a place on the England Rugby u18 squad, and Nicholas Archbold, who plays in the Elite Academy Basketball League.

Within the Girls’ School, Year 11 student Millie Dacosta Evans rides for England in national Polocrosse tournaments, Lucy Dodd, in Year 10, competes in the u15 England Badminton team, and Lillie Quinlivan Coulson, also Year 10, was selected for the ISFA girls u16 National Representative squad.