Upton Park school boy hits the back of the net

An Upton Park school boy was beaming with pride after winning a national writing competition to team up with children’s author Dan Freedman on his new book.

St Edward’s Year 6 pupil Ricardo Barron-Gardner will have a character he created included in the next instalment of Dan’s series about football star Jamie Johnson.

Samaira Naz, gifted and talented co-ordinator at St Edward’s, said: “Ricardo was thrilled to meet Dan.

“It was a very successful visit.”

The Year 6 pupil scooped the top prize after writing a short story about an amusing character for the competition, which was organised by schools learning products and services provider, Scholastic.