Epping’s rising athletics star Naomi Harryman continued to turn heads at the English Schools National Finals last weekend, even among older opposition.

Harryman, who lives in Thornwood Common, has just turned 15 years old but was competing in the Under-17 heptathlon and managed to finish ninth.

The teenager was competing for Essex in the national tournament and she helped her team win bronze overall with the top score.

Harryman’s final total of 4,139 points is at a national standard and a record for her club, Harrow Athletics Club.

Aiming to follow in the footsteps of Team GB’s Olympic gold medallist Jessica Ennis-Hill, Harryman managed to break her personal best in the 800m (2.35), 200m (26.7) and the high jump (1.52).

“I was really pleased with the result,” she said. “I got three huge personal bests and they are all events I’ve been working very hard to improve.”

She added: “There were some older and bigger girls so it was quite intimidating but I knew who they were and I was confident I could do well.”

With the summer season drawing to a close, Harryman is now looking forward to the winter indoor campaign.

She is currently in the UK top 20 for the heptathlon in her age group and hopes to make the top three next year in all her events.