OXFORDSHIRE is the destination on Saturday for girls from Prince Henry's High School who have earned a place at the English Schools Track and Field Cup finals.

The squad will be in action at Tilsley Park in Abingdon after reaching the prestigious finals for the first time.

They eased to victory in the county finals at Droitwich in May - a win that saw them travel to Tipton near Birmingham for the regional round.

Ella Turpit ran a season's best in the hurdles, while Charlotte Biddle smashed her 100m personal best by more than half a second when taking the tape in first place.

Ali Campbell almost broke her own javelin best as another solid effort helped amass vital points and top spot was sealed after sound efforts in the 80m and relay events that saw the girls crowned champions.

While the girls were celebrating, the day fell flat for the boys who had given everything in their bid to make it a double success for the Evesham school.

Stef Ellis won the 100m and Tom Quantrell achieved personal bests in both the hurdles and triple jump but there was heartache for the team who led throughout until they were overtaken in the very last event.

The boys had also come through in fine style at Droit-wich but they will have to be content with cheering on the girls this weekend in what promises to be a memorable occasion for the school.

The talented athletes have already won the District Schools competition when they lifted the Priest Cup at Evesham High School in competition against their two neighbours, Pershore High School, Bowbrook, Pull Court and Bredon Hill Middle School.

The Henry's team triumphed by the massive margin of 110 points to retain the trophy while the individual efforts brought selection for South Worcester-shire for 31 pupils.

Nine pupils later gained places in the Herefordshire and Worc-estershire team that competed in the Inter-Counties Mason trophy at Birmingham's Alexandra Stadium.

Ellis, Campbell, Turpitt, Will Ricketts, Duncan Meikle, David Huggins, Vicki Rhodes, Jade Attwood and Morgan Griffiths were the ones to catch the eyes of the county selectors.

Joining Campbell, Rhodes, Attwood, Griffiths and Turpitt at Abingdon this weekend are Sophie Small, Nicole Beau-champ, Emily Langdon-Jones, Anna Harrison, Katie Robinson and Lesley Smith.

Four of the ill-fated boys squad were in action in a Combined Event that included all of the county's leading athletes.

Meikle ran out the overall winner to progress through to this weekend's national final, while Quantrell, Ricketts and Ellis finished in the top six in the Inter competition but other commitments prevented them taking on the national challenge.