WYRE Forest Taekwondo members secured a 100 per cent pass rate in its recent coloured belt grading.

The club is a part of the Taekwondo Association of Great Britain and 15 local schools grade together under Grand Master Paul Donnelly four times a year to gain their next colour belt on their journey towards black.

Among those grading were Tom Barney and Asha Patel, both going for their last coloured belt grading, a red belt with a black stripe. They have both worked extremely hard over the last few months, raising their fitness, improving their power and technique and memorising the complex routines or ‘patterns’ required to display their talents to their grading examiner.

Both were individually recognised for their improvement and their performance on the day. Their next grading for their black belt will be held at the national TAGB Taekwondo Academy in Bristol, under a panel of grading examiners, including Grand Master David Oliver, Chairman of the TAGB and the British Taekwondo Council (BTC).

It was a small grading for the club this time round, with just 11 students going forward to grade, but the results were outstanding with all achieving a higher than average pass.

Mya Garcha, Jack Stokes, Alex Powell, Elliot Munn, Manuel Birchley and Tom Barney also excelled and special recognition went to Georgina Munn, Danka Chorostowska, Richard Liu, Laura North and Asha Patel for achieving top marks.

Instructor Katie Billingham said: “I’m really proud of everyone, they have worked hard to raise their standards. While we did well last time I saw the over all grades had slipped slightly and I was keen to maintain the high standards we are known for as a club, so we really knuckled down on the basics and I’m pleased to see our hard work reflected in the results.

"Its not about being perfect, it’s just about continually trying to be a bit better each time. Everyone did that and I couldn’t be happier with them.”

For more information on joining the club contact instructor Katie Billingham on 07885 293088 or visit wyreforesttaekwondo.com