Talented sprinter earns coveted spot on American programme

A talented young sprinter is set to take her first leap across the Atlantic this summer.Ella Goldring, 17, has earned a coveted spot on the prestigious Sutton Trust Fulbright USA Programme, opening doors to Ivy League opportunities in America.The Springwood High School student, who is currently studying A-Levels in Maths, Physics, and Economics at the Lynn school, beat stiff competition from around 1,800 UK applicants to be chosen as one of only 120 students awarded a place on the elite programme.

The opportunity will see her spend a week at Princeton University in New Jersey this July, offering a firsthand taste of American college life.Ella said: “I’m looking forward to experiencing American culture and seeing how their lives compare to ours.”My parents are very excited for me, especially my mum, as she travelled a lot when she was younger, including to America. “It’s not my first trip alone – in high school I went to Italy, France and Spain. However, these are not nearly as far away as America.”The trip, which will mark Ella’s first time in the US, comes after months of hard work and preparation. The application process included a competitive residential session at the University of Nottingham and ongoing assignments to help prepare students for the unique US admissions process.“We’ve had weekly assignments that involve writing about our extracurriculars, studying for admission tests, and completing financial aid documentation,” Ella added.“It’s a very holistic process, quite different from the UK system.” Her path to this opportunity began when she was approached by an agent interested in helping her explore studying in the US based on her athletics.However, the costs initially made it seem out of reach. It was not until a conversation with a teacher that she was introduced to the Sutton Trust Fulbright Programme.“I came to a bit of a dead end with my research, and a teacher suggested I apply for the programme. That changed everything,” she said.As a sprinter who competes in the 100m and 200m events, Ella also has her eye on a future in athletics alongside her academic ambitions. She is already looking into universities both in the UK – particularly Russell Group institutions like University College London and King’s College London – and top American colleges with strong engineering and sports facilities, including Loughborough.“I’ve thought about going into engineering management, automotive engineering, or even petroleum engineering,” she said.“But I also aspire to be a professional athlete.”