An Oxfordshire badminton coach is giving youngsters at one Oxford school some top tips and training this term.

Under 11 girls at Bayards Hill School in Barton are being taught to play the sport by James Barclay every week.

He said: “These are basically taster sessions to show people the basics of badminton.

“Because it doesn’t get the TV coverage that other sports do, the best way for people to find out about badminton is to get involved in schools.”

Barclay is the head coach at the Oxfordshire Badminton Performance Centre, based at Abingdon School, and regularly coaches players for national competitions.

He added: “It was really good fun getting to go back to basics, have some fun and teach people from scratch.

“And some of the girls showed good potential to go on and play at a higher level.”

Among those learning how to hit the shuttlecock was ten-year-old Georgina Wheeldon from Barton.

She said: “I really enjoyed playing badminton.”

Headteacher Keith Ponsford added: “When we heard James Barclay was offering to come, we jumped at the chance.

“He has come in like a breath of fresh air and given the pupils new ideas.”