A GROUP of gymnasts have reached the final of a French TV talent show.

Acropolis, a team of eight gymnasts from the successful Deerness Gymnastics Academy near Durham City, were invited to perform on a show called ‘The Best: Le Meilleur Artiste’ after producers saw their winning performance on ITV’s ‘Let’s Get Gold’ in 2012.

In the seven heats leading to the final, the gymnasts aged from 13 to 22 have been competing against stiff competition from another 84 professional acts from around the world. The show’s judges and audience rewarded the group an impressive score of 17.7 out of 20 for their acrobatic performance to Adele’s ‘Set Fire to the Rain’.

"This is a great opportunity for Acropolis and Deerness Gymnastics Academy" said Stuart Thompson, coach and head of acrobatics at the academy. "We didn’t really think about making it through when there were so many other world-class acts performing. The reaction of the live audience and the comments from the Jury were just amazing."

Getting to the final of the competition follows a number of recent achievements. Deerness Gymnastic Academy was named Tumbling Club of the Year in the North of England Gymnastics Awards. The club has also won a string of British, European and world titles, producing more than 60 Team GB athletes.

Mr Thompson said: "Getting to the final is a fantastic achievement but, now that we are there, we know it will be very hard.

"Our act includes either gymnasts who work full time or still attend school, and perform as Acropolis in their spare time in order to raise income for the club."

The prize includes 100,000 euros and the final show will be broadcast on September 13 on TF1 in France.