A WOKINGHAM schoolgirl is head over heels after making it to the British tumbling championships.

Amalia ‘Lia’ Green started gymnastics when she was just four-years-old but started tumbling when she was nine.

Now, two years later, she has secured a place at the British Championships later this summer, just one step away from the highest competition this year.

The 11-year-old lives in Sandhurst with her brothers, Jamie 10, Seth seven, who is also a tumbler, and Cameron five.

Her mother, Lara Pesce, said: “I’m very very proud of her. We realised quite early that she had an aptitude for gymnastics but once she started tumbling it became quite apparent tumbling was her thing.”

Lia’s dedication paid off weekend when she finished with a score of 55.2, placing ninth in the qualifying competition at The English Institute of Sport in Sheffield earlier this month.

The terrific tumbler is in Year 7 at Holme Grange School in Heathlands Road but trains with the Basingstoke Gymnastics Club five times every week.

Her coach at the Stephenson Road club, Anne Bidmead, said: “Lia’s quite a talented girl. She decided to focus on tumbling two months ago.

“She’s done really well. Because it’s an Olympic year there aren’t age group events for the world championship.”

She said the British championships saw only 16 competitors in each age group for an event. If Lia qualifies for next year’s British event she’ll be eligible for the world finals.

In tumbling the athletes combine the skills of artistic floor gymnastics and trampolining as they launch themselves down a 25-metre sprung track.

Rebecca Fuller, head of girl’s gymnastics at the school, said everyone was proud of Lia’s achievement.

“A massive congratulations to Lia Green who qualified for the British Championships in July after being seeded ninth in the qualifying competition last weekend,”she said.

“A fantastic achievement and we wish her the best of luck for the National Competition.

“The school are extremely proud of her and we all wish her the best of luck as she goes forward to the national competition being held in Liverpool in July.”