A MOBO award-winning rapper made a Black History Month celebration extra special for students in Plaistow.

All 1,350 talented pupils at Lister Community School, in St Mary’s Road, took part in an evening of entertainment to end Black History Month - a nationwide effort to promote the contribution people of African origin have made to the world.

The students have been learning from the inspirational stories of young, gifted, and black people across the generations.

Lister held a special finale event to the month on October 25 where students and guests showcased their many skills, entertaining the audience with Caribbean folk dancing, and poetry performed alongside the La Rayan folk dancers from St Lucia.

Rap artist Akala, the younger brother of Ms Dynamite, even made a special appearance at the event.

Originally from Camden in north London, Akala won Best Hip Hop Act at the Music of Black Origin awards in 2006 and he has since gone on to establish the Hip Hop Shakespeare Company, a theatre production outfit encouraging young people to look at the arts differently.

Anthony Wilson, headteacher of Lister Community School, said: “The whole school community looked forward to the show, which was a chance to connect our students with generations of young, gifted and black people who have made such a positive contribution to the world we live in today.

“Our students are keen to succeed and the inspiring role models from the black community help positively direct our students’ ambition.”