Kings of Wessex student Toby Attwood picked up a silver medal in an international judo tournament in northern France.

TOBY Attwood from the Kings of Wessex Academy in Cheddar, travelled to Maubeuge, in northern France to compete at their annual international judo competition.

Toby who fights in the U38kg category, had a large group of 20 fighters from various countries all over Europe.

Toby had a bye in the first round, so his first fight was against a lad from the Belgium national squad. Once Toby had got to grips with the Belgian’s style of judo, he out-gripped his opponent scoring midway through the bout and holding on for a good win.

In the third round, Toby faced another Belgian, who he totally dominated and without throwing him, put a big score on the board, through penalties. Toby fought maturely to see out the four-minute fight and progressed to the semi-final.

It was Belgian opponents all day for Toby and in the semi-final he despatched his opponent with a powerful technique and again seeing out the fight to make the final. In the final, Toby got caught midway through but won a fantastic silver medal.

His older brother Ben competes this weekend in the English Open Championships in Sheffield.