A 16-YEAR-old from Poole has a lot to celebrate this Half Term having been crowned Ginetta Junior Champion 2019 at Brands Hatch last weekend.

Bournemouth Collegiate School pupil, James Hedley, capitalised on a fantastic season which saw him finish on the podium for 18 of 24 races, with 12 pole positions and seven race wins.

Whilst also studying for his GSCEs, James’ dedication to racing has paid off with him being crowned Champion with a final season score of 680 points, a lead of 89 points ahead of his nearest rival and with one race still to go.

Gray Hedley, James’ father, said: “We are understandably proud of James being crowned 2019 Ginetta Junior Champion, he could now be on the steppingstone to a career in motorsport and is on the ‘wanted’ list from many Junior Formula 1 category teams.

“Like any dedicated sportsperson, there has been many sacrifices, financial contributions and third-party efforts put in by institutions and individuals to help develop James’ talent; I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who has supported James on this journey.”

Whilst other 16-year-olds might be expected to give up non-Academic pursuits in order to focus on their GCSEs, James has managed to juggle both, combining race weekends with photography coursework, and fitting in studies alongside testing.

Having started go karting at the age of eight and working his way up through the karting ranks, James then changed tack at 14-years-old to join the Ginetta Junior Championship driving Ginetta G40s.

The future is certainly looking bright for James; over the next couple of months he will be testing for Formula 4 2020 and looking to gain sponsorship to enable him to continue his journey through the sport.

Russell Slatford, Head at BCS added: “James achievement cannot be understated – to be crowned 2019 Ginetta Junior Champion whilst also studying for GCSEs is beyond impressive.

As a school, we are thrilled that James has been asked to compete in the Formula 4 International Scholarship next month and look forward to his future successes.”