Friday's Local Hero: Usually, the sight of a youngster brandishing a blade in Scotland is a signal to make yourself scarce. Thankfully, this 14-year-old bears no malice.

More often than not, the sight of a youngster brandishing a blade in Scotland is a signal to make yourself scarce. And if the tooled-up duellist is wearing a mask, the gravity of the situation is somewhat heightened.

Thankfully, this particular 14-year-old bears no malice. "Fighting with a sword just seemed like good fun," admits Matthew D'Agostino, one of the country's foremost young fencers, assuaging any anxieties with his politeness and explaining his attraction to a sport so marginalised it aspires to a place on the fringes.

With fewer than 600 registered competitors in Scotland, the journey is far from complete, yet the profile of the sport will be raised by its inclusion as one of eight sports in the UK School Games commencing in Coventry next Thursday. The Edinburgh schoolboy, whose weapon of choice is the sabre, is at the vanguard of a talented group of youngsters who will travel south with high hopes of challenging the English hegemony.

"I think we've got a good chance," says D'Agostino. "I like this type of fencing a lot more because you're part of a team and there is a lot more pride for your country if you win."

His mother, Liz, attempts to query that statement, but he reinforces his point with a single-mindedness that has served him well, school playgrounds not being the place to confess to a love of fencing. That said, his handiness with a sword perhaps also quells the dissent.

"Sure, some of my friends find it a bit funny but I've done a couple of talks at school about it. Once, on a dress-down day, I went in my whole fencing kit - the jacket, the breeches, the lot. Two of us did it and we took a change of clothes to be on the safe side, but we got a really good reaction."

He was not, he adds, armed with his sabre.

That is perhaps just as well, judging by the tantrums thrown by several adult sabreurs embarrassed after being defeated by the 14-year-old in his rare forays into open competition. Ben Hanley, his coach and former Commonwealth fencing championship medallist, is judicious in choosing D'Agostino's competitive outings but expects his protege to add to his Scottish under-17 sabre fencing title by featuring in the top 10 of the GB cadet rankings by the end of this season.

Considering that he only became involved in the cerebral, tactical sport through the involvement of a friend, his development has been impressive. Within a few months of starting, he finished second in a competition and was soon being coached in the arts of what is often described as physical chess.

The complications are now beginning to mount. With the sport demanding more of his time - not to mention his parents' finances in a barely recognised discipline - and his Higher exams in the not too distant future, D'Agostino has some decisions to make. His maturity and family support will help, but a full-time career in the sport is not viable.

"I might have to step away from the sport during fifth year so I can concentrate on my exams," he admits. "Then, as long as I get a decent set of Highers, I can give it a real go during sixth year if I can negotiate a lesser timetable. But if I got the chance to go to a fencing academy I would make that commitment because it would feel terrible to throw it away."

D'Agostino's parents nod in agreement. The pride they feel is clear, an emotion heightened by the knowledge of what has gone before. Their son was born with two holes in his heart and underwent surgery at the age of 18 months to repair the problem. For a long time, any involvement in sport seemed unlikely but Matthew's determination allowed him to pass every fitness test presented to him.

"I have to pay attention to the fact that I have a heart condition and not turn a blind eye to any problems," he admits breezily. "Sports people can be so focused sometimes that they push on through things but I simply can't do that. But it's just another thing I can say to the older guys I beat: I'm 14 and I have a heart condition'."

The doctors have told D'Agostino that it will not impinge on his future in fencing. Indeed, his only concern is about expectations. "I can't think getting to the Olympics is what I must do from the age of 14 because if I don't get there I'll feel like I've failed," says the Scot with the Italian heritage, suggesting that competing at the Commonwealths, for Scotland, would be much more appealing.

He need not fear. Regardless of his future achievements, D'Agostino is already a Scottish sporting success story.