Medals for Leeds Swimming Star

Over the Easter holidays, Kidiest Hodgson, in Year 8 at Allerton Grange, travelled to London to take part in her first national completion with the English Swimming Schools Association (ESSA), winning four bronze medals and a silver.

Kidiest trains at the City of Leeds Swimming Club three mornings a week, getting up at 4am before school, and six or seven evenings a week, depending on if she has a competition coming up. She has been swimming since she was six years old and competing since she was in Year 5. Kidiest hopes to go to national competitions at the end of the season in August, and from there on to European championships. In the long term she hasn’t ruled out Olympic aspirations and following in the footsteps of other acclaimed swimmers from her club; Georgia Coates was the youngest member of Team GB who went to Rio in 2016. Kidiest hopes to continue training hard and winning more competitions to apply for university scholarships in America when she finishes school.

Mr Roper, Headteacher at Allerton Grange, granted a donation from the school to help cover the costs involved in travelling to the completion. He said, “We are delighted with Kidiest’s fantastic achievements. She is a lovely, polite and friendly student who tries her best both during school and with her swimming commitments. She embodies our motto of ‘Aspire, Grow, Succeed’, and is an inspiration to other students.”