A former world champion surfer spoke to Homerton school pupils about making the right choices last Monday.

South African athlete Shaun Tomson told 140 Year 10 pupils at City Academy in Homerton Row about how he tragically lost his son at the age of 15 after he died played a choking game at school in 2006.

Since then, he has been speaking to young people about the choices they make in life and the pressures they face as teenagers. He relayed how he had been offered drugs as a boy but refused and then later lost his best friend who took them. He presented pupils with life lessons from his book called The Code.

Business and IT teacher David Brown, who organsied the event, said: “It was a very powerful and inspirational talk which all pupils learned from and could relate to. Both staff and pupils were really moved and it’s been one of the best talks we’ve had at the academy since it opened. There were very clear messages and he was able to relate being a professionals sportsman to tackling challenges in life. He was a great speaker and the students really warmed to him.”