COMPETITIVE archer Eleanor Thornton, who last year ranked number one in the UK in her age group, is preparing for the British Field Championships this month.

The 12-year-old, from Gateshead, who has been shooting arrows since the age of four, will compete against some of the country’s finest young field archers for the title of Junior (U18) National Field Champion at the competition in Bedford on May 27 – 28. 

The record-holding youngster, whose dream is to represent Team GB at the Olympics, has also competed in the first stage (northern) of Archery GB’s Junior Archery Series in York this Saturday, May 20. 

A Year 7 pupil at Dame Allan’s Schools, in Newcastle, Eleanor is keen to promote the sport amongst her peers. She said: “I’d encourage anyone who has never picked up a bow and arrow to give archery a go, either at school or at a club.  It’s such a great sport for individuals and there’s no better feeling than when you get the arrow to land in the gold!”

Eleanor was born into a family of archers. Her paternal grandparents, Ken and Jan Thornton both shoot, and her parents Jared and Abby Thornton met through the sport when at university. Eleanor’s mother represented England at the Euronations Tournament in 2009, and her seven-year-old brother also competes.

The family are all members of the Whitburn Archers, an archery club in South Shields that was founded by Eleanor’s grandfather in 2000. Eleanor started shooting arrows when she was just four years old and competed in her first event at age six, where she completed a full course and won her first medal in the Junior Lady (U12) Recurve category. 

While Eleanor has competed in all four main types of archery – target, field, clout and flight – she splits her focus between target archery, which involves shooting stationary circular targets at specific distances, and field archery, which requires the archer to shoot at outdoor targets of varying and often unmarked distances, typically in woodland. 

In 2021, she won the Junior Lady (U12) title at the All British Field Championships and finished third at the Junior National Outdoor Champions. Last year, she qualified as a Junior Master Bowman and claimed a new national record for the Double Metric V round at a world record status event in July.

National rankings released at the end of 2022 placed Eleanor at number one position in the UK Junior Lady (U12) Recurve category. This year, Eleanor has won her category in each of the outdoor events she has completed to date, including the Yorkshire Clout Championships, the Dearne Valley Field Shoot and the Bronte Spring Shoot. 

She said: “I’m really proud of everything I’ve achieved so far, and I really love hitting gold, so I’m getting excited and prepared for the upcoming competitions. My ultimate goal would be to make it onto the GB team for the Olympics one day.” 

In July, Eleanor will compete in the Archery GB Junior National Outdoor Championships at the Lilleshall National Sports Centre, near Telford, in Shropshire, for the title of U14 National Outdoor Champion.

Will Scott, Principal of Dame Allan’s Schools, in Fenham, said: “Eleanor has already achieved incredible success in archery and at such a young age; she is a shining example of a pupil who is truly committed to a sport that she loves. Eleanor not only demonstrates an innate talent with a bow and arrow but has the drive and determination to compete at an elite level. We wish her all the best in her upcoming competitions.”