A teenage writer has had his first poem published.

Ashraf Siddique, 13, from Leyton, submitted his poem Fixing Society to the Young Writers national competition Poetopia after being encouraged by his English teacher at George Mitchell School.

The teenager beat competition from thousands of other hopefuls, some as much as five years older than him, to be selected for a London anthology, which will be published later this year.

He is also still in with a chance of being chosen as the best poem in his category, which could earn his school a £500 prize.

Ashraf, from Leyton, puts his success down to the quality of teaching at George Mitchell.

He said: "At primary school I did not feel I had my expectations met by the teachers.

"But when I came here and was taught by teachers who knew how to challenge and inspire me my whole outlook on writing changed.

"It was when I came here, to George Mitchell, that I realised that I wanted to be a writer.

"This is just the first step. I want to be an author so now that I have been published I have set my sights on writing my first novel."

George Mitchell head teacher Saeed Hussain said: "It is wonderful to hear that it is the quality of teaching at George Mitchell that has inspired this young man.

“We take great pride in encouraging every pupil to develop their creativity. Seeing his work in print will encourage Ashraf and inspire other pupils to become more imaginative and confident with their work.”

The Poetopia competition is open to secondary school pupils aged 11-18