A TALENTED netball player from Bromsgrove has been handed the opportunity to tour South Africa in a bid to further her career.

Stacey Francis, a pupil at North Bromsgrove High School, is one of 14 girls nation wide who have been selected as part of a talent squad to improve their game.

The group will spend two weeks in South Africa from the end of August learning different aspects of the sport and experiencing different styles of play.

They have been chosen because coaches believe they have the potential to represent England at the World Youth Games next year or in 2009.

Sixteen-year-old Stacey, daughter of former Birmingham City striker Kevin Francis, has already represented her country at U17s level and recently missed out on selection for the U21s.

Yet two days later she was surprised to learn she was on the plane to South Africa.

"I didn't know anything about it," she said. "I was delighted."