FORMER Cricklade College student Lois Chang jetted off to Australia this week to take part in the Commonwealthe Fencing Championships.

Lois, who grew up in Grateley and also went to Wallop County Primary School and Test Valley School at Stockbridge, is a member of the 30-strong England squad and is the only right-handed competitor among the five members of the women's foil team.

The championships, which start next Tuesday, 19 November, are sanctioned by the Commonwealth Games Federation and medals will be awarded accordingly.

Lois, who now lives in Bath and works as a systems analyst having gained a BA in architecture at Oxford and Msc in advanced computing at Bristol, started fencing while at university 10 years ago.

Currently ranked eighth in Great Britain and fifth in England for the women's senior foil, she has already represented Great Britain at World Cup events in France, Germany, Hugary, Russia and America.

One of her most recent successes came at the Bristol Oepn - one of the biggest as well as the toughest events on the British circuit - where she gained a bronze medal.