Schoolboy swimmer Ollie Taverner set a new English age group record at the British Championships this week – and is now looking forward to taking his talents onto the international stage for the first time.

The 14-year-old produced his record-busting performance in the 100m breaststroke in Glasgow on Tuesday and then broke his own record later that day in the junior final.

He said: “It was really special to step up and do it in the final and drop my time even more.”

Now the youngster, who holds three English records and two British age group records, is set to make his international bow after being called into the Great Britain squad for the first time for their trip to Italy at the end of the month.

He said: “It was overwhelming when I heard. It’s such a big milestone. It’s been one of my childhood dreams and it’s something I’m about to complete. It will be amazing to be there as part of a GB team.”

His success comes after leaving home to pursue his dream, swapping home for a scholarship with Mount Kelly Swimming School in Tavistock, where so many top swimmers have come through the ranks.

And it’s just reward for him and his parents, Lisa and Andy, who are set to re-mortgage their North Watford home so they can keep paying his school fees.

Lisa said: “The success he’s having makes it worthwhile. My husband and I will be re-mortgaging in September to keep him at the school. He’s got a scholarship but we still have to pay the fees. It’s really tough. It’s like buying a small car every term.”

Lisa and Andy were poolside in Glasgow to watch their son’s double entry into the record books.

But they very nearly missed his second record-breaking swim of the day.

Lisa revealed nobody had expected Ollie to reach the evening’s finals – as he was up against boys three years older – so they did not buy tickets. They only decided to get them so they could watch Adam Peaty and the rest of the British stars who were competing in the event which doubled as the Olympic trials. And they were delighted they did as Ollie’s record swim of 1.05.75 put him into the junior final.

Lisa said: “We would have missed it otherwise. It was only in the morning when I asked him if he wanted us to get final tickets so he could come back and watch Peaty that we got final tickets. It was a good job we did because it was sold out and we would have missed our son in his final.

“It was so exciting and a brilliant feeling. It was lovely he did it in such a big arena with so many big fish around. It was a phenomenal achievement and we were really pleased to be there cheering him on.”

In the final he trimmed his new record for 14 year old down to 1.05.67 as he finished seventh.

Lisa said: “We are so proud. You can’t put it into words. You get so emotional when you watch him. My husband videos his races and it’s not until you listen back that you realise how involved you get.”

They were not the only ones captivated. His former clubs, Watford and Bushey, both stopped their training sessions to watch him live.

Ollie said: “I was really nervous at the start. I was filling up my bottle before the race and my hand was shaking. Warming up in the same pool as people like Adam [Peaty] and the big stars was jaw-dropping. It’s what I aspire to and I want to be the guy that people look up to in the future.”

The next day, he boarded a flight from Scotland back to the west country. With Italy on the horizon, jet-setting may be something he has to get used to as he chases his dream of making the 2020 Tokyo Olympics or the one after that.”