A trio of Truro High sisters are celebrating this week following the news that they will all play hockey for their country amongst the ranks of the UK Lions National Squads.

Twelve-year-old Emma Day, from Penzance, impressed the national assessors and coaches at the UK Festival of Hockey leading to her claiming one of the sought-after spots to represent her country with the under-14 squad.

She joins her twin sisters Katie and Lucy who received the England call-up last January.

Thirty-six out of nearly 150 of the country’s top sportswomen were selected from regional teams to play for the under-14 squad.

Even more impressive, most players in the team are in the year above Emma.

Emma said: “I couldn’t believe it when the coaches told me, I started crying. I’m a bit nervous about being one of the youngest players on the team but so excited for all the trips away.”

Emma played her first matches with the team in Malaga this Christmas ahead of an indoor tournament on New Year’s Eve at the Olympic Park in London. Over the next twelve months she will compete in tournaments in Eindhoven and Belfast. Katie and Lucy will also be representing their country in Belfast next summer.

The school’s Director of Sport, Ms Kat Barbery-Redd said: “All three girls are extremely talented and have worked incredibly hard, both with our coaches at school and their local teams, to refine their game and mentally prepare for hockey at the highest levels. It’s fantastic to see their hard work rewarded!”

Delighted mum Vicki said: “Its fantastic news and we are incredibly proud. They are definitely going to be busy over the next year!”

All three sisters train with Penzance Hockey Club every week alongside their school and national hockey commitments. To facilitate this rigorous schedule, they spend at least 6 hours on the pitch every week.

It’s an exciting for the twins who have also just made it to the national finals of the Tier 3 Championships with the school’s under-16 hockey team. The team will be flying the flag for Cornwall and the South West this February when they play the national finals at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, home of the Hockey World Cup 2018.

The trophy is the latest addition to Truro High’s growing collection of hockey accolades which also includes which includes seven county and the Under 16 South West Tier 3 champion titles.