Kingston & Polytechnic Harrier Pippa Earley may have found a new technique to beat her pre-race nerves, but it is certain she is not standing still on her route to the top.

The 14-year-old Notre Dame School student clocked 10.9 seconds – a new championship record – to claim the U15 girls’ 75m hurdles English Schools’ gold medal in Gateshead on Saturday.

The time fired her to the top of the UK rankings in the event.

It comes in stark contrast to last year’s championships, when Earley took a tumble in her semi-final to clock 13.20secs in finishing sixth and miss out on a shot at the title.

But armed with a new strategy to tackle her nerves, she was always confident of doing herself justice – although the manner of the victory came as a surprise.

“It feels great to be champion. It hasn’t really sunk in yet,” she said.

“I knew it would be close, but I thought I had an opportunity to do well.

“Last year I fell over in the semi-final. I hadn’t slept well the night before because I was so nervous.

“This time I knew I just had to lie still in bed and I would go off to sleep.

“Last time I was just panicking all night and never slept.”

Earley, who lives a stone’s throw from Kingsmeadow stadium, only started concentrating on her athletics three years ago, having first taken up gymnastics at Tolworth Gym Club.

She now tops the UK rankings in hurdles, long jump and pentathlon and she is in no rush to specialise just yet.

“I was only really training once a week at athletics when I first joined the club because I was doing five sessions a week in gymnastics,” she added.

“The gym club taught me the discipline you need to be successful.

“Once my coach saw how well I was doing at the long jump and hurdles, he encouraged me to concentrate a bit more.

“The hurdles is my favourite event, but I think I’m strongest in the multi-events disciplines. Hopefully I’ll be a bit like Jessica Ennis-Hill one day.”

Surrey, overall team champions last year, won the junior girls’ group A Championship Shield and were second in the junior boys’ and intermediate girls’ competitions as they collected 293 points from 100 finals to finish second in the Broadbridge Trophy.

Essex, runners-up last year, were champions with 301.50 points and Kent finished third (289) – as they did last summer.

Up next for Earley are the English Schools’ pentathlon championships, the South of England Inter Counties Championships and the defence of the England Athletics Championships U15 girls’ 75m hurdles title she won in Bedford last year.