FITZWIMARC School’s six-man team went to the World Schools Athletics Championships in Prague with plenty of nerves and a little trepidation but came away as the fourth best team on the globe.

The Rayleigh school team of Josh Prentice, Peter Bowen, Daniel Stratton, Dan Sheffield, Harrison King and Jack Longhurst arrived in the Czech Republic as one of the youngest of all the 23 squads.

With no sixth-form, the Fitz team didn’t have the luxury of picking under-19 athletes as other schools did.

On top of that, there were rumours of monster talented athletes including 21 metre shot-putters and pole vaulters easily clearing five metres, sweeping the track on the first day of competition.

But the Fitz boys stood up to the plate and produced a remarkable seven personal bests in the 13 events to finish in an outstanding fourth place, an agonising four points off of third place.

“We are all immensely proud of those six kids,” said FitzWimarc’s head of PE Danny Cowley. “They were flying the flag for all the other kids at our school who work so hard.

“It wasn’t a level playing field. We were up against specialist sports schools and we are just a comprehensive in Rayleigh.

“The Australians (who won), for example, had been travelling for three months, all their kids were on athlete scholarships and we finished just 21 points behind them.

“It just goes to show that if you have a group of people willing to work hard then special things can happen.

“For the boys to go and get seven personal bests in 13 events says everything you need to know about them. They were so incredibly nervous beforehand and for them to be able to cope with that and turn it into positive performances on a world stage shows how good they are.”

Cowley expects all of the team to build on their experiences in the Czech Republic and go on to achieve great things. But even if they don’t, he says they will have experienced a week they will remember for the rest of their lives.

“I have been fortunate enough to know a lot of good sportspeople and I’ve taught a lot of good sportspeople, but no one who has finished fourth in the world,” Cowley said.

“Let’s hope it’s not the pinnacle for them and it’s just the start. I expect them to go on and do great things, but if it is the pinnacle, then what a pinnacle.”