IT has been a busy time for Chulmleigh Community College Year 8 pupil Hayden Herkes and his sister, Year 11 pupil Learna.

Hayden played in an Under 15’s badminton event in Gloucester on Sunday, October 20, winning both the singles and doubles competitions.

On Thursday, October 24 he flew out to Finland to play in the Finnish Youth International Under 13’s competition. He got through to the quarter finals in both the mixed and doubles events, and also reached the knockout stages of the singles where he finished in ninth place.

This event had 263 entries across four different age groups and Hayden played against competitors from Finland, Belarus and Sweden during the three-day event.

On October 19, his sister, Learna played in the Wimbledon Under 19’s Gold event where she reached the quarter finals, losing to a player ranked eighth in England. This was one of the biggest tournaments in the country, and finishing in the top eight is an impressive performance.

She also won her first senior event on Saturday, October 26, winning the singles event in Wellington, Somerset.

Learna was also called up to the Welsh National Squad to play a match on Wednesday, November 6 in Cardiff, and has been promoted to the Devon Second senior team, a great achievement for someone so young.