A Level student Ollie selected for England U18s Hockey Team

Callywith College A Level and High Performance Academy student athlete, Ollie Rundle has been selected to be part of the England Under 18s Hockey team.

Ollie, who previously attended Launceston College and now studies A Level Biology, Chemistry and Psychology at Callywith College, was incredibly happy with the offer to be part of the national team.

He said: “I started playing hockey as soon as I could walk, my mum played hockey, she was a coach in the local club so I started when I was around 5 and then just continued playing. It’s a privilege to have been one of only 26 in the country selected to play for the England Under 18s Hockey Team, especially as being one of the four who were selected a year younger, makes it extra special and the fact that I did the under 16s team, continues the journey and I look forward to the rest of the season.”

Ollie, who intends to study medicine at university after completing his studies at Callywith College, is also part of the College’s Medics’ and High Performance academies. The High Performance Academy offers specialised training and support to exceptional student athletes who compete as individuals within their sporting arena. The academy, which takes place in the new fully equipped gym in the College’s Fox building, focuses on providing the opportunity to access outstanding functional movement advice, focusing on sport specific based biomechanics, whilst delivering expert strength and conditioning programmes to help athletes reach their potential.

Ollie spoke of how supportive the College and the High Performance Academy have been towards him as a student athlete. He said: “The College has really boosted my performance, as I can train while I’m in college, it takes a lot of pressure off. I was training outside of school in the evenings where I’d want to be revising, now I can do it in college and that gives me more free time to focus more on other aspects of my life.

“During the High Performance Academy sessions, the High Performance Coach, Julian Wills, has really aided me with extra weights and specialised movements, he advises us on what to do, what not to do, say if we’ve got something big on the weekend, what training to do and when and what to eat."

The academy also offers support to athletes who may be in the process of recovering from injury by carrying out rehabilitation and recovery programmes. The High Performance Academy is one of the many physical activity opportunities offered at the College through the Callywith Active programme, which includes a comprehensive timetable of student participation activity sessions including, basketball, badminton, table tennis, gym sessions and football, community GP Referral programmes and community holiday activity days.

Staff at Callywith College are extremely proud of Ollie’s achievements, his course lecturers say he’s one of the brightest in his classes and works extremely hard and they are all really excited to hear what Ollie does next.

Find out more about the High Performance Academy and all other Sport academies on offer at the College here.

Online applications for Callywith College are now open for September 2022 here and the College will hold its next Open Event on Saturday 12 March, 10am – 1pm.