Maidenhead & Windsor

It's Maidenhead success "at the double" for the latest group of budding young sports and arts personalities to receive Maidenhead Royal Borough bursary awards.

This week's bumper crop of talented youngsters will double the "previous best" Maidenhead record for the number of awards, with a total of more than 40 bursaries - twice as many as in previous years.

And doubling up in the sporting celebration stakes are two pairs of siblings each receiving bursaries – the badminton-playing Bailey sisters, Emma and Zoe, from Ascot, and budding tennis-star brothers Daniel and Oliver Brown from Windsor.

The talented duos join the rest of the latest contingent of up-and-coming youngsters who will receive their awards at the ceremony to be held on Tuesday March 28 at the Town Hall, Maidenhead, from Cllr Richard Fagence, lead member for leisure and cultural services.

The double celebration of sports and the arts* will see young people representing sports ranging from hockey and rowing to netball and ice skating line up alongside violinists, ballet dancers and a sculptor to receive bursaries to help with travelling costs, coaching fees and equipment.

Rowing and sculling top the list of sports with the most bursary recipients:

Ben Firminger (Old Windsor) – winner of nine prestigious rowing events, Ben aims to win all three national rowing events this year
Philip Jupp (Eton Wick) – bronze medallist at the National Rowing Championships in 2005, and recently-elected as vice captain of Windsor Boys' Boat Club
Thomas Skelton (Windsor) (sculling) – silver medallist in national schools' quads, Thomas trains and competes in single, double and quads for Windsor Boys Boat Club
Aimee Campbell (Windsor) – twice gold medallist at the national championships, and hoping to win a place in the Great Britain team for the match against France
later in the year.
Jamie Watson (Windsor) – winner of the British indoor rowing grand prix in 2005 and 17th in the first set of international sculls trials
Katy Lion (Maidenhead) – with several gold medals under her belt, Katy is on track to represent Great Britain by 2007 at under-16 level
Krystal Arbery (Old Windsor) – British champion in her age group and aiming to represent Great Britain in 2006 at outdoor sculling
Laurian Pepper (Maidenhead) – sculled for Scotland last year, and currently ranked in the top quarter of the Great Britain junior squad
Martin Haymes (Reading) – already accepted for the Oxford Brookes university team ahead of his hopeful start at the university in October, Martin is a regular competitor at the Henley regatta and holder of several gold medals at national and European championships.
Tennis:
Ben Williams (Windsor) – a member of the Berkshire county tennis team, he was recently selected and took part in the 18-and-under boys county tennis cup in Sheffield
Brothers Daniel and Oliver Brown (Windsor) – Daniel was an under-12 semi-finalist at the Windsor Junior Open tournament and Oliver was the winner of the 2005 under-10 Windsor Junior Open. Together they were semi-finalists in the Eastleigh Grandprix.
James McWalter (Windsor) – ranked 4th in Berkshire in under-12s mini tennis and 142nd nationally
Nail Pauffley (Maidenhead) - ranked 2nd in the county , 6th in the country and number 82 in Europe at under-16.
Badminton:
Sisters Emma and Zoe Bailey (Ascot)– Emma was gold medallist in the Berkshire team at the national doubles tournament in 2005; Zoe is a member of the Berkshire under-13 squad and was in the winning Berkshire team at last year's national doubles tournament.
Hockey – Andrew Watts (Maidenhead) – Andrew has represented Reading Hockey Club in local and European matches and has represented England at under-16, 18, 21 and England B-team level
Swimming – Jonathan Nalsh (Maidenhead) – a freestyle and backstroke swimmer, Jonathan came 14th in his age group at last year's national championships.
Alice Gent (Maidenhead) – holds several silver medals and currently swims just outside national qualifying times
Ice skating – Yuen Tung Chiu (Maidenhead) – competes in British and international championships, she was 3rd in the international in Croatia in 2005
Laura Connor (Ascot) – Laura has skated in the national team challenge for the last four years, achieving silver last July
Running – Lewis Sloan (Old Windsor) – fifth in the county for the 1500m track event last season and is currently 7th in the Chiltern League cross-country under-13s
Cricket – Oliver Jordan (Old Windsor) – one of the highest wicket takers in the Berkshire Under-10s, 11s and 12s squads
Cycle racing – Robert Jackson (Ascot) - Robert specialises in pursuiting and road racing, and has had one British Schools Cycling Association win and various national medals.
Netball - Stephanie Essex (Sunningdale) – recently selected for the England under-19 team to play at the European Championships as well as selected to play for Team Bath Youth Superleague squad
Sailing – Adrian Clay (South Ascot) – with a national ranking of 7th in Great Britain, Adrian is aiming for selection to the GB team for the European championships.
Basketball – Daniel Carter (Windsor) – a member of the England basketball squad and the English Basketball League division one, Daniel aims to train to professional standard in the coming year.
Artistic Gymnastics – Jessica Hawkins (Ascot) - a member of the national squad. Her aim is to be ranked sixth in the country for her age group (14-15 years).
Sports aerobics – Lauren Gillard (Maidenhead) – bronze British medallist and gold Welsh medallist last year in sports aerobics, a potential Olympic event.
Talia Katz – selected for the 2006 GB national squad competing in the World Championships in China in May.
Pole vault – athletics – Steve Walker (Bray) - gold medallist at last year's national young athletes auxiliary finals, Steve is the current south of England under-17 champion.
Eventing – Victoria Samways (Windsor) – competes in Eventing which includes dressage, showjumping and cross-country and qualified for the British Championships in her first season.

There are even more "doubles" in the arts bursaries contingent which features another duo of recorder-playing sisters, two violinists and two ballet dancers.
Recorder – Alison and Caroline Hopper (Maidenhead) – Alison is holder of Maidenhead Music Festival's Outstanding Instrumentalist Cup for her performance in the intermediate recital class, while sister Caroline won the Recorder Cup at the same festival and has just auditioned for the National Youth Recorder Training Orchestra.
Vocal and instrument (violin)
Catherine Al-Ghabra (Maidenhead) – a member of the Berkshire Youth Choir, Youth Orchestra and East Berkshire Chamber choir, Catherine helps in choirs and orchestras at Newlands School.
Natalie Earl (Maidenhead) – Newlands School pupil Natalie is productions manager for Newlands Records as well as playing in the school orchestra, singing in the school choir and is also a member of several local choirs.
Ballet dance
Grace Horler (Windsor) – has just been accepted into The Royal Ballet (securing one of 12 places internationally); and has successfully auditioned for the National Youth Ballet.
Stephanie Joyce (Maidenhead) – a full-time student at London's Central School of Ballet, Stephanie is now aiming for a place in a touring dance company.
Clarinet
Sarah Lewis (Maidenhead) – a member of several ensembles and orchestras, Sarah plays solo clarinet in the Zephyr wind band
Oboe and piano
Carla Matthews (Maidenhead) – piano accompanist for school choirs, church music group, festivals and instrument groups – oboe member of the East Berks Youth Orchestra and the Zephyr wind band
Viola
Rachel Sweeney (Maidenhead) – principal viola player with the Reading Youth Orchestra and a member of the Berkshire Youth Orchestra, Rachel composes as well as performing.
Art, sculpture and painting
Matthew Townsend (Eton Wick) – his art includes photo realism, drawing, painting and sculpture – and he is soon to exhibit a piece at a London exhibition.

The Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead,