Toot Hill in Bingham lands top five spot at the English Schools’ Swimming Association (ESSA) national finals at the London Aquatic Centre

A secondary school’s swimming team ranked in top five in the country after superb effort in the national finals.

Four swimmers from Toot Hill in Bingham ensured the school was one of the top five in the country at the prestigious National Finals in London.

Year seven students Oscar Ferrar and William Newham, along with year eight pupils Lewis Hare and Ben Roberts, competed in the English Schools’ Swimming Association (ESSA) event at the London Aquatic Centre on Saturday.

The world-class venue at the Olympic Park hosted swimming at the London 2012 Olympic Games.

Toot Hill won heat two of the 4x50m medley, with Lewis (backstroke), Ben (breaststroke), Oscar (butterfly) and William (freestyle) clocking their personal record time of 02-14-76.

A extremely competitive final saw the team finish fifth in a time of 2-16-51.

Amelia Hall, head of the PE department at Toot Hill, said: “This was the first time Toot Hill have competed in the National Finals and we are very proud of the boys’ achievements.

“They were extremely nervous to compete in such a big event at the Aquatics Centre where many of their swimming role models competed in the London 2012 Olympic Games.

“Finishing fifth in the country is a fantastic achievement. As a school, we could not be more pleased with their performance considering the high level of competition.”

It was the 63rd year of the event which sees hundreds of schools participate in qualifying in a bid to reach the national final.

The pupils swam in the same pool as legendary swimmers Michael Phelps and Notts’ two-time gold medallist Rebecca Adlington.

Dr Chris Eardley, head of school, said: “I am incredibly proud of these four students. What an achievement to race at such a prestigious event and venue.

“They are extremely dedicated sportsmen who still find the energy to be exceptional students in school. They truly exemplify our school ethos of ‘Work Hard, Be Kind, Take Pride’.

“I look forward to supporting them in future school swimming competitions and would like to say a huge thank you and congratulations to them on behalf of everyone in our school.”