CLIMBING: SCHOOLGIRL Shauna Coxsey is reaching for the top.

The 12-year-old is already a member of the Great Britain Youth climbing team. And her ambition is to be world champion.

Shauna is about to launch her first assault on the British Indoor Climbing Championships which has rounds in Sunderland, Edinburgh and London.

The accumulative score from the three events will decide overall British rankings.

Eligible through age for the first time, Shauna of Dukesfield, Runcorn, will compete against girls up to three years older.

But the Grange Comprehensive pupil has already won one national title this year. She progressed through three rounds of the British Regional Youth Climbing Series to reach the final in London where Shauna scored maximum points for first place.

Twenty-one other nine to 12-year-old girls were left trailing by the Runcorn youngster - the only climber in her category to complete every task, including five boulder and three top-rope problems, at the first attempt.

Shauna has been climbing for half her life - her interest first being stirred by watching free climbing, in which competitors don't use ropes, on TV.

Dad Mike Coxsey takes the youngster to all competitions and she has five older sisters and a brother cheering her on.

Shauna has won the Under 16s title in the Cumbria Area Bouldering League for the last three years.

And earlier this year, she spent a week at a British team training camp in Fountainbleu, France.

Her sister, Cindy Donnelly said: 'She is a very talented young lady - a pleasure to know - and all her family, friends and climbing colleagues are incredibly proud of what Shauna has achieved in her sport.

'Shauna also continues to do very well at school, not allowing her commitment to her sport to encroach on her academic life.'

Cindy added: 'She has been climbing for many years but has never lost interest or neglected her training.

'Although only 12 years old, she is extremely dedicated and understands the importance of a consistent training regime.'

Shauna trains at Awesome Walls, a climbing centre in a former church in Liverpool.

'She currently climbs three times a week - two evenings and one day at a weekend,' added Cindy. 'Shauna has often had to make sacrifices in order to attend climbing events, competitions or training days.

'But she continues to climb with commitment and professionalism far beyond her years.

'Her aim is to become a world champion in the years to come - a goal we believe she is capable of achieving.'