Gresham’s School Sixth Form pupil, Toby Little has been selected as a member of the Great Britain cadet rifle team, ‘The Athelings’.
The Athelings (meaning ‘young noble’) is a team of 18 cadets selected from the best cadet forces from across the country. Toby has secured his place on the team for a month long tour to Canada in August 2017.
Toby has enjoyed an exceptional twelve months in the small-bore range. He has recently been a member of the Gresham’s team which defended the British School Leagues for the eighth consecutive term. He was involved with the Gresham’s team that won the British Schools Team of VIII competition and is also into the final, with his team mates, in the national team handicap competition, which they hope to defend for the third consecutive year. Toby is also the current British under-16 small-bore champion.
A delighted Toby, who was selected from more than 1000 competitors at the National Rifle Association’s imperial meeting, said: “I am really pleased with my selection and I am really happy to have made my family proud. I am looking forward to meeting the team and spending the time in Canada.”
Gresham’s master of shooting, Freddie Grounds, added: “This is a wonderful achievement for Toby and it is a deserving reward for the dedication and the many hours of training he has put in since he first joined the Rifle Club in 2013. In the last year or so, Toby has really started to show his true ability and he has never really looked back since his outstanding performance at the 2016 NRA imperial meeting.
“Toby continues to improve all the time and is certainly one of the top shots in the country for his age group and his name is now up there with the very best shots that Gresham’s has produced over the years.”
Toby follows in the footsteps of an impressive number of former pupils who have been selected to the join prestigious team. Gresham’s has seen no less than 18 pupils represent the Athelings during the course of the last ten years, an amazing achievement in itself.