For any 16 year old, juggling a social life and revising for exams can prove to be a difficult challenge.

Katie Farley, a student of Queen Elizabeth grammar, Penrith, finds herself having to fit these in around competing at the highest level, in the less common sport of canoe polo.

Katie’s mother Clare Farley described the joy of seeing her daughter travel to the Netherlands and winning the Helmond International Tournament while representing the Liverpool-based side, Friends of Allonby.

“I’m extremely proud of her,” said Clare.

“It’s a tough competition and she performed well, playing against larger and stronger ladies.”

Her unique talent hasn’t gone unnoticed, and last summer she achieved the virtually unheard of distinction of playing for Great Britain at the age of 15 at the World Championships in Syracuse, Italy.

It was a huge achievement with the Under-21 women’s team, achieving a commendable fourth place.

However, Katie, of Newton Reigny, near Penrith, knows that she still has GCSE exams to revise for and her routine is often full to the brim with training sessions for her local club Penrith and Allonby.

It’s a situation which often leaves her with multiple dilemmas.

“Katie managed to get three-quarters of the way through Pride and Prejudice when travelling to the Netherlands,” joked Clare.

“She trains at least once day, sometimes more, travelling down to Liverpool twice a month to train with Allonby, as well as training once a month with the national side.”

Katie has a busy summer ahead, and plans to play in the Flanders Cup in Mechelen, Belgium, the International German Cup in Essen and the European Championships in Saint Omer, France. She will be definitely be well-travelled by the time the summer is over.

The long-term ambition for Katie will be to target the World Championships next year in Welland, Canada, and her mother detailed the sport’s own ambitions.

“They want it to become an Olympic Sport,” said Clare.

“In Belgium and Germany there are professional adult players, so it’s certainly a real possibility.”

For someone of such a young age, Katie can certainly take pride in her astonishing achievements to date, and hopes she can take her ability to the next level.

For those who aren’t familiar, canoe polo is a full contact game played over two periods of 10 minutes, with two teams of five aiming to place the ball in the opponent’s net.

The match is played on a piece of flat, open water measuring 35 metres x 23 metres, with a goal suspended at each end.

The players can pass, dribble and throw the ball using their hands and paddles. It is the fastest growing watersport in Britain.