National fell running champ races to top GCSE results

National fell running champ races to top GCSE results

YORKSHIRE athletics star Angus Millar has proved he’s as strong in the classroom as he is on the hills.

Ripon Grammar School’s 16-year-old endurance sensation stormed to top GCSE results, securing ten grade 9s and two grade 7s, while continuing to dominate the national fell running scene.

Millar, crowned British Under-18 Inter-Counties Fell Running champion earlier this year, has delivered a standout academic performance to match his sporting achievements,

The aspiring veterinary surgeon from Nidderdale, achieved his top grades while successfully balancing elite-level fell running with his demanding exam schedule.

Racing almost every weekend and training twice weekly with Ripon Runners, alongside solo sessions and recovery cycling, Angus credits disciplined routines and boarding school life for helping him stay on track.

“I think I’ve managed to juggle my running and revising pretty well,” he said.

A key factor behind his dual success, he says, has been boarding school life, which has allowed him to structure training, recovery and revision more efficiently.

“It’s been good because I can head out for a run and then get straight back to work or boarding activities,” Angus explained.

It has meant he has managed the rare double of academic excellence and national sporting success - cementing his reputation as one of Yorkshire’s brightest all-round talents.

Angus’s sporting CV is already formidable. His win at the British Inter-Counties Fell Running Championships in Edale, after a fierce battle across the Peak District’s brutal terrain, added to a growing list of achievements, including British Open Fell Runners Association (BOFRA) race wins and consistent success at English Schools level, where he continues to rise through the ranks.

Away from running and revision, he remains involved in swimming, rugby, cross-country, cycling, gardening and even breeding ducks — though athletics and academics have clearly taken centre stage this year.

Looking ahead, Angus is set to return to sixth form to study biology, chemistry, physics and possibly maths, with ambitions of pursuing veterinary medicine at university.

On the sporting front, he’s targeting further national titles and ultimately hopes to represent England in fell running - a goal that now looks increasingly within reach.

For now, though, it’s a celebration of a rare achievement: top GCSE results and national gold medals in the same season.