Achievements
Taekwondo Star!
Brooklyn Burnside, age 11, has been involved in Taekwondo since the age of 6. She trains 5 times a week and is coached by Debbie Scott and Ben Shaw of the Koyro squad at Maindendale Community Centre, Firthmoor.
Brooklyn has been selected for GB National Cadet Development Squad following the Manchester trials in December and is a Black Belt second dan, currently practicing for her third dan – she is the youngest grader ever to go for this skill level! Her achievements are Bronze medalist at British National Championships in 2012, National Champion in 2014 and won two gold medals in the European Championships held in Holland.
Her short term ambition is to be selected for the Youth Olympics and in the long term to be as good as her idol Olympian, Jade Jones. This is a huge commitment for both Brooklyn and her family as she is now training once a month in Manchester as well as planned overseas trips to Holland in March and possibly Spain later in the year. The sport is a family affair as her sister Nancy, 12 is a first dan black belt, sister violet , 8 is a blue belt and brother Michael, 7 is a yellow belt. Mum Diane Burnside was so inspired by her sporting achievements of her children, that through a national initiative called ‘Kick Sister’, she also took up the sport nearly a year ago and is a green belt
We believe that she is the first pupil ever at Firthmoor Primary School to be selected for a national squad and we’re extremely proud of her. She is a very modest and dedicated pupil who acts as a superb role model for younger pupils. As a result of celebrating her achievements in school assemblies, fellow pupils have been inspired to take up the sport of Taekwondo
Kacey Hughes in Year 4 goes dancing and has wrote this about what she does.
Dancing
I go dancing twice a week and I start at half six and end at half eight. I practice dancing on Cobden Street in a big hall where all of our trophies are kept. The only trophies that are at dancing are Troupe, Team and some other trophies. I go dancing on Mondays and Wednesdays which are my busiest days of the week because dancing is the main thing I do in my life! The dances that we practice and perform at competitions are double which I do with my dance partner, Tia. I also do solo dances which is just me by myself and I also do Rock ‘n’ Roll with Tia as well. We also do team dances however I do it with some people who are the same age as me, their names are Katie, a 9 year old, Tia is 10, Bessy who is 9 and Kaitlin a 10 year old.
My last dance that I do is a Troupe dance where everyone who goes to the same class as me dance together. Oh, I forgot to tell you what my dancing is called. It is called Dance Express! I love dancing and I wish Miss Fleetwood would come because I would like to see how she dances because she would be in the big team and she would have to be good to fit in with them!
