DAREDEVIL teenager Matthew Ryan is take the plunge to raise money for his school.

The 16-year-old from Weaverham is a pupil at Oaklands School in Winsford, which caters for children with special needs.

Matthew, who has autism, is planning to do a tandem parachute jump from Tilstock Airfield at Whitchurch on April 22.

He will be accompanied on the fundraiser by Paul Sutcliffe, the husband of Michelle Sutcliffe, a teaching assistant at the school.

Paul will be doing a separate tandem jump at the same time as Matthew, whose parents are having their son’s parachute jump filmed as a memento.

Matthew and Paul are raising money for the school with their daredevil exploits, and this is not the first time the teenager has taken on an adventurous challenge.

Matthew and his dad Ged, a member of the Cheshire Bat Group, climbed Mount Snowdon in north Wales 18 months ago, which raised £150 for Oaklands School, and Matthew abseiled from the roof of a Congleton school he attended in aid of the school.

“Matthew said he wanted to do a parachute jump to raise money for his school,” said Ged.

“I can’t praise the school enough – it has transformed Matthew’s life, and I would like to thank everyone who has contributed to his fundraising.”

The parachute jump has raised hundreds of pounds, which includes £280 from a justgiving online donations page, which has now closed.

Oaklands School has thanked everyone involved in its ‘seven marathons in seven days’ challenge for Sport Relief.

“We have raised a staggering £1,750, which is a truly amazing achievement,” said the school “A huge thank you to all students, staff and parents who got involved in this amazing event - we managed to complete a massive 10 marathons in seven days.”

Headteacher Kevin Boyle is one of 107 headteachers to be appointed to the role of National Leader of Education (NLE) in the latest recruitment round.

NLEs, along with staff in their school - designated a National Support School - provide additional leadership in other schools.

NLEs are deployed to suit the needs of each school needing support, or to those in transition to academy status.

Mr Boyle said: “As a school we’re delighted we have been designated as a national support school and as a national leader of education.

“We look forward to working in partnership with other schools and support them in their improvement journey.”