ALLEYN Court student Oscar Holt continues to foil his rivals as he makes further advances in his fencing career.

In April last year he was accepted into the England fencing youth development programme “tomorrow’s achievers”.

This is a scheme whereby the national youth development squad take those fencers that they believe have the greatest potential to represent their country at national and international level and provide them with enhanced training so that they can achieve their potential.

At the end of last year Oscar won the Leon Paul Junior Series, being the only under-nine boy fencing epee to have ever achieved the maximum score of 100 points.

He was accepted onto Southend’s STARS talent assistance scheme for gifted sports people in February.

In April he started the Southend Talented and Gifted Academy programme which is run by Kirk Edwards under the Southend School Co-ordinating Partnership. He has now moved from the under-nine age group to the under-11s and has won medals in all the competitions that he has competed at that level including three bronzes and one gold.

Having fenced at the British Youth Fencing Championships he is the now youngest fencer in the country with an official ranking by England Fencing.

He starts competing internationally at a competition in Holland at the end of this month.