THOMAS Hardye School pupil Rob Carrick-Smith insists he is ready for a big winter of training after breaking his personal best to win bronze in the boys’ ambulant shot put at the Sainsbury’s School Games.

More than 1,600 talented school children descended on Manchester to compete in 12 sports across four action-packed days.

And Carrick-Smith, representing England South West, was one of the athletes who impressed – throwing 8.95m to beat his previous best by two centimetres.

The 17-year-old shared the podium with winner Panagiotis Mamuneas of England Midlands and England South East’s Joshua Bain.

And Carrick-Smith has already set his sights on throwing even further next season.

“I’m 5cm away from 9m so it’s now just about throwing that bit further but it went really well at the games,” Carrick-Smith said.

“I can throw further next season; I’m planning to do a lot of strength and conditioning work to aim for 9.5m.

“This was my third time competing at the event – the first year in the Olympic Stadium in London was brilliant.

“The opening ceremony was amazing to be a part of and it was nice to hear from Katarina Johnson-Thompson.”

The Sainsbury’s School Games has helped to launch the careers of many British athletes, including heptathlete Katarina Johnson-Thompson and Paralympic swimmer Ellie Simmonds who were watching the next generation of British stars coming through.

And Carrick-Smith hopes he may be part of the next generation of Sainsbury’s School Games alumni to represent Great Britain at the highest level.

“I’d like to represent Great Britain in the future but I’m aiming to keep improving my ranking at the moment,” he added.

“Events like this, the level below international, is really good for bringing on athletes.”

* The Sainsbury’s 2014 School Games, which is supported by National Lottery funding from Sport England and delivered by the Youth Sport Trust, was held in venues across Manchester.

Visit 2014schoolgames.com for more information.