DOWDALES School football star Georgia Stanway has set her sights on leading the line for England after the striker was selected as an SSE Next Generation athlete.

The programme helps budding sports stars reach their potential by providing valuable funding and mentoring from some star names.

After making it onto the scheme Stanway was one of 64 athletes that descended on to Wembley for the SSE Next Generation workshop where she received coaching from the likes of Sir Chris Hoy, Darren Campbell and Judy Murray.

The 16-year-old signed for Blackburn Rovers Ladies under-17s back in January and has been in fine form, consistently finding the net for her side.

And with the support of SSE she now hopes she can continue her rise to prominence after making England’s squad for the UEFA European Championship elite qualifying round.

“This season has been going really well," said Stanway, of Barrow. "We’re top of the league so far and we’ve won quite a lot of our games. However, some of the games haven't gone quite to plan but I’m still really pleased with the season as a whole,” she said.

“We’ve got a few games left and I’m pretty confident we can see it out and win the league as long as we keep on doing what we’ve been doing.

“In terms of England we’ve got quite a lot going on, we’ve got a European tournament in two weeks time in Cork to play against Ireland, Holland and Hungary, a friendly tournament and a development tournament so we’re going to be quite busy throughout the summer.

“When I turned 16, I signed for Blackburn ladies so I play for the under 17’s and the ladies and I want to help them push on from the third tier.

“In the long term, I hope to play for the England first team because that would really be a dream come true.”

For Stanway, Rovers runs in the family and dad Paul is over the moon to see his daughter scoring for the side he supports.

“My dad is a Blackburn Rovers fan so it’s been great for him to see me out there scoring for Rovers. We’re a good team so hopefully we can develop and push on,” she added.

“It’s a challenge because you’re playing against more experienced players so it’s physically more demanding and you have to push your level up when playing the game.

“It seems like there are more opportunities for women in football and if you look at the attendances it’s a really positive sign for the future.”

SSE’s Next Generation programme partners with SportsAid to provide financial support and training to the sports stars of the future. Keep up to date with the latest @SSENextGen