Eggar’s School Year 9 pupil Sebastian Poon has been crowned the British basic novice champion, following an outstanding performance at the British Figure Skating Championships held at Ice Sheffield.

This achievement is even more significant given that just over a year ago, Sebastian was left without a home rink after the closure of Basingstoke Ice Rink. Undeterred, and with the support of his family and Eggar’s School, Sebastian transitioned his training to the National Ice Centre in Nottingham — travelling at weekends while continuing his full-time studies in Alton.

Sebastian’s success has been made possible through the dedicated support of his coaching team — Phil Harris, Debbie Wright, Clair Ben Zina and Sophie Shoebridge — as well as the encouragement and flexibility shown by the staff at Eggar’s School.

During the championships, Sebastian also had the opportunity to witness British ice dancers Lilah Fear and Lewis Gibson make history by securing their eighth consecutive national title. Experiencing this moment, along with the atmosphere of a major national competition, has inspired Sebastian in his own competitive journey.

With the championships now complete, Sebastian will continue his training on the advanced novice pathway, with the goal of achieving the qualifying score for next season and building upon this milestone national title.

Sebastian’s latest impressive success comes after he skated his way to victory at the 2025 Robin Hood Trophy in Nottingham in the national basic novice boys’ category, achieving a personal best score of 30.47 with a technically-challenging programme set to The New Earth by Audiomachine.

Sebastian’s victory in Nottingham came after he had enjoyed a successful 2024, finishing in second place in the national boys’ level four free skate category at the British Ice Skating Open and winning a silver medal in the national boys’ level three category at the Robin Hood Trophy.