Hot shot teenager Jessica Powell outgunned her male contemporaries at a major international shooting event at Bisley, less than a year after taking up the sport.
Jessica, a Year 10 pupil at Llandovery College, was fourth in the Under 16s category and 32nd overall out of 540 cadets from all over the UK, the Channel Islands and Canada.
Her eagle eye so impressed selectors that Jessica, who lives in Cwmann, Lampeter, has now been picked as reserve for the Welsh Shooting Team. Her Llandovery College team mates Stuart Bowler and Hugh Macgarvie, were themselves picked for the Welsh Team following their impressive performances alongside Jessica at the Schools and Cadets National Rifle Association event at Bisley at the end of July.
Jessica was one of just a few girls to represent their schools at the high profile competition at Bisley which is the premier shooting ground in the UK.
Jessica said “I really enjoyed shooting at last year’s CCF Summer Camp and decided I would like to take it further on returning to College after the holidays. It has been quite difficult balancing my shooting with my GCSE examinations in Latin and Science which I took in June, but success at Bisley has made it all worthwhile.”
Other successes for the Llandovery College team included winning the Major Elers Trophy outright, finishing 14th in the Ashburton trophy and 18th and 22nd in the Cadet Pairs.
Jessica’s mother, Julie Jenkins, is the manager of the Nat West Bank in Aberystwyth.