SIXTH-Form student, Steven Rodriguez-Bonilla, from Middleton-in-Teesdale, had a delayed start to his studies.

Steven, a star member of the Baek-ho tai kwon do club, spent three weeks this summer in South Korea training with Korean University students, who are acknowledged to be the world leaders in tai kwon do.

This is not Steven's first international experience.

As a member of the British national team, he has already represented his country in Barcelona, in Spain, and was recently picked to compete against the US national team, where he beat the American number one.

Steven was recently named the Teesdale Sportsman of the Year. He is now on an intensive training programme to prepare for the junior world championships, which will take place in Ireland on November 15.

After that, he will be building up to the 2004 Olympic Games, which are to be held in Athens, the birthplace of the Olympics