A HIGH school student is celebrating national ice skating success.

Jessica Barber, 16, from Dobshill, is a student in the Sixth Form at Castell Alun High School and has just been awarded 2nd place in the Preliminary Category of the British Synchronised Ice-Skating Championships.

Jess, who has been skating for 13 years, is a member of Deeside Synchronised Ice-Skating Club, was thrilled to take the second place medal along with her team members, which is a first for the team in this prestigious competition.

The championships took place over the weekend at Nottingham Arena, and it was streamed live on the BBC website.

Practising with her team for 3 hours a week, Jess then engages in personal practice sessions for at least a further 5 hours weekly, and has just been requested to join a Senior Level 2 Team which is based in Cardiff.

To take the medal last weekend in Nottingham, Jess skated a three and a half minute routine with her team. The prescribed routine had to contain a creative intersection, a feel-move element, a circle and a further intersection, in a fashion which actually resembles ‘Strictly’ on Ice.

Jess Barber said: “We were so excited when the results were announced, and I have to admit, just a little pride crept in there too. We’ve been working towards this big competition for 5 months now and we all felt the pressure a bit.”

Synchronized Skating is the fastest growing figure skating discipline and involves teams of 12-16 skaters, skating in formation with speed and precision whilst performing intricate routines to music.

It combines the beauty and elegance of freestyle skating and the excitement of a team sport, but it takes hours of hard work and dedication on and off the ice to blend between 12 and 16 skaters into one unit. It makes skaters of all ages and abilities work together as a team.