WHILE Blakeston, in Stockton-on-Tees, hit the headlines for its unusual twist on the sporting curriculum, schools in Worcestershire have promoted PE rather more quietly.

At Blakeston School, cheerleading lessons were last week announced to a wave of curiosity and amusement - surely this was PE gone mad, people thought.

But the move will serve two uses, regardless of whether it proves a hit at the school.

Firstly, anything that gets people talking about exercise and physical activity among the young, especially at our exam-dominated schools, has brought an important issue to a wider audience.

Secondly, it shows that as the shackles of a rigid curriculum are being eroded in the classroom, in favour of personalised learning, so the options on the sports field are beginning to open up.

Schools now offer the subjects pupils want to learn - not just teaching English, maths, science and the humanities - and similarly students can start to enjoy the activities that interest them.

At Droitwich Spa High School, a specialist sports college since 2000, there has been an explosion in activities, including cheerleading.

"We have table tennis, contemporary dance, trampolining, judo, outdoor adventure activities, badminton, rounders and countless others," said John Humfress, director of sport.

"The choices are unrecognisable since I was at school and we have a large uptake - the more you have available the better the opportunity to find something to take part in.

"The boys' participation has gone up and the girls' even more so, because of the type of activities we have introduced.

"Trampolining and dance have been huge, but girls' football has been really popular across the country."

However, it no longer stops with participation and the national curriculum now splits three ways: playing, coaching and refereeing sports.

At the Briar Mill school, in Droitwich, opportunities to practise all three are on offer depending on whether you are a budding Wayne Rooney or Alex Ferguson.

"It is not just about sports either," added Mr Humfress.

"We have trained supervisors to oversee playground equipment like skipping ropes and pogo sticks, just to keep people active."

As the curriculum becomes more adaptable and broader, so schools become more like their higher education counterparts.

No bad thing as the success of sports, especially among women, at University College Worcester shows.

Students have access to almost any form of exercise and activity and, in contrast to stereotypical image of drunken and lethargic students, they take advantage of them.

Female students can join hockey, football, netball, rugby, rowing, basketball, table tennis and swimming teams, while gymnastics and trampolining clubs are also on offer.

For the more adventurous there is martial arts - both Jujitsu and Aikido - skiing - the club, just returned from a week in Austria - climbing, triathlon, Tai Chi, pilates and yoga.

UCW's dance club includes ballet, tap and modern classes, as well as a cheerleading section, which supports the Worcester Wolves basketball team but is also open to people of all ages purely as an exercise class.

"At UCW we offer women of all ages and sporting ability opportunities to participate in sport, whether at a competitive or social level," said Susie Hart, head of recreation and sport.

"We offer all our students coaching and practical sporting opportunities, and this has helped us to foster extremely strong community links.

"It has also seen several of our current women students compete at international level, in areas including rugby union, judo, hockey and table tennis."

England rugby captain Joanne Yapp graduated with a PGCE from UCW this year, while UCW's current roll of honour includes:

n Laura Price - England U21 hockey.