POM pom-potty Matthew Chadwick has proved he is man enough to take on an unusual pastime for his GCSEs cheerleading!

The 14-year-old is part of a group of performing arts students who will be dancing in front of thousands of spectators, and a live Sky TV audience, at Burnley Football Club when they play Norwich City on March 25.

He is the only boy out of the 19 youngsters from Rhyddings Business and Enterprise School, Oswaldtwistle, who will take to the pitch before the match and during the interval.

Matthew, who lives in Oswaldtwistle, said he was really looking forward to the occasion.

He said: "I really enjoy the cheerleading and I can't wait until we perform at Burnley.

"I have been dancing since I was 12 and liked the sound of doing this. I don't get a hard time from anyone."

He said he was "not bothered" that he was the only boy at the school who does cheerleading and added: "It's not bad spending so much time with the girls."

Fellow cheerleader Taryn Maslam, 15, said: "We've got a lot of respect for Matthew because a lot of lads wouldn't do it. "He's really good."

Suzanne Waterworth, the choreographer for the Burnley FC cheerleaders, has been visiting the school twice a week to help the students perfect their dance routines.

They have to perform in front of an audience as part of their GCSE assessment.

Deputy head Andy Davidson said: "Matthew is a very energetic and enthusiastic lad and he's really looking forward to their performance.

"All of the students are absolutely delighted that they have this chance to perform in front of such a big crowd. It will be such an exciting experience for the students and we are really grateful to Burnley FC for making it happen."

Nick Harrison, Burnley FC's assistant leisure and community manager said: "It's a partnership we have been working on with the school for the last three to four months and we will also be looking to incorporate football in other aspects of the curriculum.."

Burnley has 200 official cheerleaders, aged from four to 16, who are split into four teams and perform on match days on a rota.

And Mr Harrison said new recruits of both sexes were welcome to join in.

Any girls or boys who want to get involved should get in touch with Suzanne Waterworth on 0870 4431882.