Oxford City's middle-distance ace Hannah England is a step closer to competing for Great Britain at the World Junior Championships in Beijing.

The talented 19-year-old grabbed the under 20 women's qualification time at Saturday's BMC Nike Grand Prix at Solihull.

Running in the 1500m A race along with the likes of Commonwealth Games medalist Jo Pavey, England finished inside the world junior qualifying mark of 4mins 20secs with a personal best of 4.18.80.

However, her selection for the Great Britain squad will not be ratified on the basis of this performance alone.

She said: "A few other girls have already got the qualifying time, and I believe the maximum number who will go is three.

"I'm just delighted to have run so well, because I've had a few injuries this season.

"When I came back from Australia (where she trained with Dame Kelly Holmes), I had a foot injury.

"But part of the training was learning how to cope with injuries.

"I was really surprised to do so well on Saturday, because I thought my whole season was going to be rubbish this was only my second 1500m of the season."

England will look to enhance her reputation by competing at the AAA Championships in Manchester over the weekend of July 15/16, and will also take part in the junior AAA championships the following week.

She added: "If you finish in the top two in those races and have the qualifying time, you're guaranteed to be in the team, so I'm going to give it my best shot.

"But whatever happens, I'm really pleased with my progress.

"Everyone is aiming for London 2012, and if I can get to the world juniors, it would be a perfect stepping stone for me."