Young karate kids with the Olympics in their sights are training to represent the country in a competition next year.

Houndsfield Primary School students, eight-year-old Dancho Gocher and nine-year-old Emre Hasan, impressed judges during a youth British championship earlier this month.

Emre, who won two silver medals, and Dancho, who won gold, earnt a place in the European karate championship held in Belgium in April next year.

The Edmonton school set up the weekly after school club in January last year, with 15 young people attending regularly to perfect their high-kicks and karate chops with their black belt instructor Irina Adam. 

Mario López-Goicoechea, education partnership officer at the school in Ripon Road, said the school is very proud of the children’s achievements and it is “unbelievable” how much progress they have made.

Although he said the primary students will be too young to take part in the next Olympics, he said they are the next generation and could be serious competitors in the 2020 Games.