A Surrey cricket star was bowled over by the sporting and academic success of Lambeth pupils when he met them at the Oval.

Arun Harinath joined more than 130 pupils from schools across the borough to celebrate their achievements of completing the Playing for Success learning scheme.

He presented certificates, cricket sets and soft cricket balls donated by Lambeth Council's home improvement partners Connaught Partnerships.

Arun, said: “For the pupils to come down here and make use of the excellent facilities at the Brit Oval can only help enhance their education and by the looks on all of their faces today it’s obvious that the scheme has been both enjoyable and highly successful.”

Playing for Success is a community initiative to encourage pupils to participate in a 10 week curriculum of literacy, numeracy and IT tuition. The programme offers a unique link between education and sport to help motivate them and boost their self-esteem.

Paul McGlone, cabinet member for children and young people's services, added: “Sport is a motivational force which makes a real difference in raising literacy, numeracy, and ICT standards, our pupils' achievements this year are a testimony to this fact.”

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