FORMER England soccer star Les Ferdinand was the guest of honour at St John's School's GCSE Presentation Evening.

The ex-Spurs player handed out prizes at the Epping school to pupils with high attainment in their exams.

This year the Tower Road school archived a greater proportion of A* GCSEs than ever before.

Sir Les, as he's popularly known, was invited to the evening by his former QPR colleague and ex-footballer Clive Wilson who now coaches at the school.

Assistant headteacher Richard Ahrens said: “Les gave an inspirational speech to students, parents and staff about the importance of perseverance in achieving your goals.”