STROUD’S Tom Curr has vowed to take heart and learn from his Aviva English Schools’ Track and Field Championship outing after failing to climb the podium in Birmingham,writes Gerard Meagher The 17-year-old – from Oakridge Lynch – lined up in the senior boys 1500m at the Alexander Stadium only to finish fourth and agonisingly miss out on a medal.

Curr came home in 3:57.71minutes to win his heat on Friday but was 0.37 slower in the final and missed out on his chance to climb the podium by less than two seconds.

The Stroud and District AC member was the first to admit the pressure of the occasion got the better of him but Curr is determined to put things right when he dons his cross-country spikes this winter.

"I didn’t really think I did very well, I came to the English Schools’ to win and I felt like I should have won. I just didn’t really click I don’t think," said Curr.

"Maybe the pressure got to me a little bit. I put a lot of pressure on myself to make this the pinnacle of my season but it wasn’t to be.

"I do have another year in the age group though so hopefully next year I’ll be back and I’ll do a lot better than that.

"I feel like I’m very capable of going below 3:50minutes and that will be the aim for the rest of the season.

"And I’ll try and get in the cross-country team for the European Championships in December as well – there’s no reason I can’t get in the team."

But while Curr suffered a bad day at the office, he has already been earmarked as a potential star of the future after receiving a masterclass from double Olympic champion Dame Kelly Holmes back in May.

And Dame Kelly – who was on hand to watch Curr at the Alexander Stadium – had some words of advice for the Stroud teenager.

"It is great to see athletes like Tom competing because I can remember when I was running at the English Schools’ Championships and it is great to watch them start their journey too," said Dame Kelly.

"The standard has always been high at these events and these guys are very talented and have shown promise since coming to one of my programmes.

"This is big stage in their young careers and hopefully it is just the start for them in becoming a top level athlete."

THE Aviva English Schools Track & Field Championships is part of Aviva’s commitment to giving every child in the UK the opportunity to get involved in athletics by 2012. For more information go to aviva.co.uk/athletics