BOLTON School pupil Daniel Sliwinski is on course to become an Olympic swimmer.

And the 17-year-old, already the holder of the British junior record for the 50- metre breast-stroke, recently gave himself a boost when he snatched the record for the senior boys 100-metre breast stroke.

His latest achievement came in a time of 1.04.69 at the English School National Swimming Championships in Manchester.

He is now concentrating on winning a place in the 2012 Olympic squad and balancing his sporting life with his studies.

Later this month Daniel travels to Australia with the British swimming youth team for two months of pre-Olympic training. And to ensure the teenager keeps up with his course work - he is in the final year of his A-level studies - the school's parents teachers' association has bought him a laptop so he can keep in touch with his studies while Down Under.

Daniel, who is studying physics, maths and Russian, has been swimming since he was five-years-old.

He said: "I am in my early stages of qualifying for the Olympics. My ultimate goal is to achieve a medal and that is what I am working towards. I have to make sure I keep on track."

During his tour of Australia, Daniel will take part in outdoor training sessions and competitions.

He will be assigned a tutor and his teachers in Bolton will regularly email him course work. And the teenager is determined to get top grades. He wants to study Russian and business management at university.

He said: "I do want to get a degree but I can take as long as I like to get it, so it will fit in with my studies.

"There was one Olympic swimmer who took 11 years to get his degree but I don't want to take that long."

Daniel added: "The swimming is hard work but I have got used to it. I spend 20 hours in the pool and five hours in the gym a week.

"I don't feel like I have to sacrifice anything because I am getting to go to Australia and have been given opportunities I would not otherwise have had."

Head of sport at Bolton School, Trevor Pledger, said: "Daniel is an outstanding swimmer, very talented. He is also very academically minded and is having to be extremely organised to balance his studies and his swimming. He is definitely very much an Olympic hopeful."

  • TWO Bolton School girls also made a splash at the Manchester championships. Emma Saunders, aged 13, broke the junior girls 100m freestyle record with a time of 1.03 minutes. And 16-year-old Helen Scott returned to school with a bronze medal in the 100-metre medley relay.