It has been a busy and exciting few weeks for two Falmouth School students, who have returned from down under after taking part in the World Surf Lifesaving Championships.

Year 11 students Thomas Trebilcock and Georgia Hawkins spent three weeks in Adelaide, Australia representing the Gyllyngvase SLSC, in what was the trip of a lifetime.

The club were based 10 minutes away from the competition location and practised in pools double the size of what they were accustomed to.

The club trained alongside fellow competitors from all around the world, including Germany, France and South Africa.

There was even time on rest days to experience some of Australia’s amazing wildlife parks and interact with koala bears and kangaroos.

Despite the incredible experience, the duo and club were there to compete hard and they did exactly that.

Thomas and Georgia helped their team to an incredible 23rd place finish out of 107 teams from around the globe, an absolutely superb achievement.

The team exceeded perhaps even their own expectations, qualifying for the world finals in some events.

The duo were understandably still on a huge high from such an amazing trip.

Thomas said “It was an amazing experience. To get through the heats was great, but to make the quarter and semi-finals against such a high international standard was a proud moment for us individually and as a club.”

Georgia added: “Australia is an incredible country. The experience was just as fantastic as the competition. It was great to have the chance to travel and stay away with friends in such an amazing place.”

Head of School Alex George said: “It’s wonderful that Georgia and Tom have had such a fantastic experience and have performed so brilliantly! We would like to recognise the huge amount of hard work and dedication that they have both put in to put themselves in a position to be eligible for such a fabulous opportunity. Well done to them both.”