Adam Smallwood doesn't mind being an apprentice at the moment - as long as he gets the chance to shine at the Olympics in London in five years' time.

The teenager from Haworth is among 17 divers who have signed up for the Advanced Apprenticeship in Sporting Excellence (AASE).

The Woodhouse Grove School pupil was chosen after finishing in the top eight of the Junior National Championships last year.

Adam, a City of Bradford Esprit Diving Club member, is one of 170 aquatic athletes across all disciplines from the Amateur Swimming Association to join the programme, which will be overseen by Michelle Kiff.

And the divers have led the way in being given an overview of the eight units that make up the National Vocational Qualification (NVQ) Level Three qualification.

As part of the programme, athletes will learn about time management, career planning, nutrition, training and communications.

All this will help to prepare Adam for international competition, providing a valuable insight into what it takes to succeed there.

Former Bradford Grammar School pupil Adam, who has only been diving for three-and-a-half years, was spotted at a summer class at Shipley Pool by then-Esprit coach Fito Gutierrez from Mexico.

Now under the tutelage of new coach Shan Veasey at Shipley, the sixth former is taking A levels in art, media studies and PE, with a view to working in the art-media field.

The introduction to the course was led by former Olympic diver Karen Smith, the Amateur Swimming Association's National Development Manager for Diving.

She said: "AASE is going to be a massive help to these talented divers.

"The resources available to them and the guidance they'll receive is completely new and far better than when I was their age.

"It will help them get to the highest level. They'll learn about goal-setting, time management, how to analyse their strengths in and out of the water and to make the most of them.

"The whole scheme is designed to make the difference between succeeding or not.

"Adam's aim is to get to the 2012 Olympics in London.

"He enjoys the highboard and the three-metre and one-metre springboards but has also had success in synchronised diving."