A group of pupils are celebrating after they were crowned London's best young mathematicians at a prestigious competition.

Students from Norlington School in Leyton took first place in the Jack Petchey Count on Us Secondary Challenge final held at City Hall.

The school emerged victorious after beating 72 rival teams from across the capital in a series of math puzzle rounds last week.

The pupils had already beaten schools across East London in two regional finals in May, scoring the most points of all participants.

Pupils who took part were, Adam Sukky, 13, Leytonstone, Hasheer Peeroo, 14, Leyton, Rafsan Rahman, 14, Leyton, Muhammad Ta-Seen, 14, Leyton,  and Zakariyya Jameal, 14, Leyton.

Hasheer, said: “Last year we were big underdogs because most of the teams were Year 9s. We were a bit disappointed last year only to finish fifth so this year we were determined to go back to win.

“It was a great feeling to be crowned the winners. We were up against the best of the best in London so to come on top is a very special feeling.

“We got a lot of support from the school. They gave us lots games and tools to practice during breaks and lunchtime and really encouraged us. It was a really team effort.

Last year, the boys came fifth in finals after winning the east London regional final, despite being a year younger than most of the competitors.

The boys will now visit the home of World War Two codebreakers Bletchley Park as reward for their victory.

Norlington principal, Guya Persaud said: “To win a competition with 60 schools from across London competing is truly an astonishing achievement.

“Our students have shown that if you apply yourself and make use of your academic abilities you can produce wonderful results.

“We are constantly striving for excellence at this school and these pupils have now set a marker to which other pupils can aspire.”