A BRADFORD swimming prodigy has been selected for a new talent programme to help young swimmers compete at the highest level.

Leah Schlosshan, 13, is a student at Bradford Grammar School, and has been selected for the Swim England Talent Programme.

The selection follows Leah competing for the English National Swimming Championships, where she won gold in the 200 metre medley, and silver in the 400 metre medley.

She is also hoping to qualify for the British Championships in Glasgow in March, and also the British Nationals in the summer.

The Swim England Talent Programme supports talented young swimmers through the creation of a network of new swimming performance centres that link swimming clubs and universities.

Created by Swim England, it is designed to support the development of young swimmers both in the pool and academically.

Through the Swim England Talent Programme, Leah is hoping to go on to represent Great Britain in the future.

She said: “I love the social side of swimming and meeting new people at competitions.

“Training hard and achieving good results gives me a real feeling of accomplishment. I’d love to represent Great Britain internationally and my dream is to progress year on year.

“Bradford Grammar really supports me with my passion, and the teachers balance my games lessons with academic studies so I’m extremely lucky in that sense.

“I have to leave 30 minutes early every day for training, and occasionally miss some schoolwork, so the teachers organise for me to do this in my spare time.

“I find them extremely approachable if I’m struggling with anything that I’ve missed.”

Craig Robinson, Bradford Grammar’s specialist sports swimming coach, said the school is “very proud” of Leah, who lives in Leeds.

He said: “Leah is the epitome of our school motto Hoc Age.

“She takes everything in her stride, and quietly gets on, always working hard in the background. She is a pleasure to watch and is consistently excellent.

“We believe that if you lay the right foundations for sport, it creates stronger athletes. It’s why it’s important for our pupils to focus on developing key skills, which are transferable, such as using the Performance Gym and experiencing a range of different sports.

“The right foundations provide solid grounding for longer sporting careers. We’re very proud of Leah and we look forward to watching her swimming career flourish.”