ONLY four gymnastic clubs in the whole of London and only one in the south-east of the capital Charisma can claim to have the charter mark Gym Mark.

To attain this award, clubs had to fulfil a number of demanding criteria concerning: child protection, health and safety, quality of coaching and achievement of the gymnasts.

Gina Thompson, head coach with Charisma, said: "The reason behind this accreditation is so that British Gymnastics the sport's governing body can direct people interested in the sport to local centres of excellence.

"It is a very new award and our club, which has its main member base in the boroughs of Bromley and Lewisham, is proud that all the aspects that a quality club should have are present.

"The club has been in existence for 15 years, and has built up an outstanding reputation in London.

"The underlying theme in the club has always been enjoyment and although we train in a school sports hall that has to be set up on three sessions, the results frequently exceed expectations."

At the most recent competitions, the Regional and Advanced Intermediate Championships, club members won 12 medals between them, including three golds.

Thompson has spent a year preparing for this Gym Mark award and has taken a lot of her time .

Now she can get back into the gym and focus on coaching, which is her real strength, knowing that Charisma's infrastructure is of the highest standard.