SWINDON and Pinewood School fencer Ben Turner won gold at the Southern Region Foil Tournament held at Wellington College.

This event attracts the best fencers from across the five-county region of Wiltshire, Hampshire, Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, and Oxfordshire, all vying to be crowned regional champion as well as securing a place at the national championships later in the year.

Despite having only just turned 10 the previous month, Turner was competing in the boys’ U12 event, where he was the youngest in the field.

Starting well, he won all his matches in the opening round-robin pool, heading into the knockout stage seeded second and earning a bye in the opening round.

Progressing through his first encounter, Turner took on an Oxfordshire opponent in the quarter-finals and was in dominant form, his rival unable to launch any meaningful attack as the Swindon fencer controlled distance with superior footwork for a comfortable 10-3 victory.

A closely-fought 10-7 semi-final triumph took him on to face the number one seed in the final and, after the first few points were traded evenly at 3-3, Turner worked out his opponent’s tactics and nullified them, using decisive parries and counter-attacks, pulling away to a memorable 10-4 triumph.

The gold medal means that Turner will represent the Southern Region at the British Youth Championships which in Sheffield in May.

Director of Sport at Pinewood School James Siebert said: “We are thrilled with Ben’s latest fencing result.

“He has shown dedication, determination and great talent for sword fencing and we are pleased that we are able to support him in pursuing his passion.

“At Pinewood, we give every child the opportunity to find a sport or activity where they can excel and we are very proud of the diverse range of sports we provide here.

“With the British School Team Championships coming up at the end of the month, we are delighted to be entering our first fencing team into this competition and see how they perform.”