HE may not follow in the tracks of John Curry or Robin Cousins but, if dedication and determination are anything to go by, Matthew Davies has a great chance of skating his way to the top.

For six years, the 14-year-old Blackrod schoolboy has trained five days a week, including three crack-of-dawn starts, in a determined bid to make it big in the world of figure skating.

And it is seems to be paying off. Successful as a novice, next week he puts his talent to the test against the best under 16s in the nation when he skates in the British Primary Championships at Basingstoke.

"You can't speculate at this early stage," says his coach, Dawn Spendlove, three times British Intermediate Champion and former professional show skater, "but he's showing the right dedication and the right talent to be successful.

"I skated competitively and I've coached for 11 years so I know what's required. It's very hard when you have to fit training and school into your schedule.

"Unlike other countries like America and Russia where they are on the ice all day and produce world champions as young as 12.

"It means sometimes starting at five in the morning to go skating, having a full day in school then returning to the ice in the evening. You have to love the sport.

"But Matthew takes all that in his stride."

The rugby-playing, skateboarding pupil of Rivington and Blackrod High School currently gets in between six and seven hours a week on the ice at the Blackburn Arena plus three hours of off-ice training to boost his general fitness for the two energy sapping programmes involved in competitive figure-skating.

"He is getting exceptionally good at jumping," says coach Spendlove, who has choreographed his free programme to the theme from the film Gladiator.

"He's a good athlete and has a good spring.

"The only thing he lacks at the moment is his presentation which I'm confident he can improve on."

With skates costing £450 a pair and only a small grant from his local Rotary Club, Matthew is desperately in need of sponsorship to fund his rise to the senior ranks.

But he has laid the foundations, coming through the Novice championships to take his place in the nation's top eight in an age-group in which he can compete for the next two years.

"He is doing very well for a boy of his age," says Spendlove. "We just hope he can continue to make progress."