Croydon's Twinelle Hopeson was jumping with joy after producing a personal best to claim 200m silver at the Aviva English School Track and Field Championships on Saturday.

The 17-year-old Croydon Harrier clocked a time of 24.55 seconds at the Don Valley Stadium in Sheffield as Bristol’s Emily Diamond took gold in the senior girls’ half lap, with Laura Haslam of Leicester scooping bronze.

And after returning to Croydon with a silver medal to declare Hopeson revealed she will get her head down for the remainder of the season with her age against her in the race to qualify for the European Junior Championships which get underway later this month.

“I ran a PB so I have got to be happy with that," she said.

"We didn’t have a relay so I was a bit gutted about that but overall I was really happy.

“At the moment I have just finished most of the major competitions for the U20 year because that season finishes quite early.

“So now I am going to concentrate on getting some races in the National Senior League under my belt.

“I am bit young for the European Juniors and a bit old for the World Youths and European Youths so I am just in limbo a bit at the minute.

“So I will just have to wait for next year and get in to any internationals that pop up. With U20s there are some small internationals I can hopefully do so I will just have to work hard over the winter.”

Hopeson, who attends Archbishop Tenison’s CE High School, won her heat on Friday in a time of 24.6 seconds, exactly a second clear of Derby’s Jordan McIntosh.

And despite a season hampered by niggling injuries, Hopeson revealed she had always been confident of impressing in Yorkshire.

“The heats were good, I thought it was going to rain but the sun was out in the end and they went well,” added Hopeson, who finished fourth last year.

“Even though I hadn’t raced much this season before I came into this meeting I wasn’t that nervous because I have been to the English Schools a few times so I am quite familiar with the procedures and the warm up stuff.

“I love the competition so much and it is so exciting, there are always some nerves but I think that is quite healthy.”

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.