Stage salute to tragic boy

Classmates of a boy who died after collapsing during his maths lesson have paid tribute to him in a memorial concert.

Daniel Vavasour, 15, a pupil at Bosworth Community College, in Desford, is thought to have been a victim of Sudden Adult Death Syndrome (SADS).

The teenager from Thorpe Astley, was sitting at his desk when he suffered a heart attack and slumped to the floor.

Frantic staff tried to revive the youngster but he never regained consciousness.

Yesterday, dozens of pupils sang, danced and acted out comedy sketches in honour of the teenager. Daniel's family was in the audience at the moving event in the school's hall.

His mum, Aimee Pattenden, 34, said: "It was very touching and it was wonderful.

"We all really enjoyed it. People always have a certain perception of teenagers and you don't expect them to be like this.

"Daniel would have loved all the performances.

"The students obviously put a lot of time and effort into thinking about him and what he liked."

Daniel's dad, Paddy, 35, said: "The highlight for me was at the end when two lads performed a song they'd written for Daniel.

"The whole concert was quite emotional but absolutely brilliant."

The concert raised hundreds of pounds for Cardiac Risk in the Young (CRY), an organisation which helps support families and campaigns for research into the condition.

Pupils who took part in the event said they were pleased to have been a part of the tribute.

Craig Goodman, 15, from Desford, and Ben O'Mahoney, 16, from Braunstone, Leicester, wrote and performed the song for Daniel.

Ben said: "We asked around Daniel's close friends about what he liked and came up with a song. He was really into acting so that was the main theme.

"It went really well and I'm pleased his family enjoyed it."

Sara Payne, 16, from Desford performed a comedy sketch.

She said: "It was great to be a part of something for Daniel."

Odette Cornford, 14, of Western Park, Leicester, sang Amazing Grace. She said: "I was pretty nervous when I got up there but I'm glad I did it.

"The school was really sad when Daniel, died. I felt upset for his family."

Nancy Honor-Wright, head of expressive arts at the college, said: "It was wonderful to do something to help Daniel's family through their grief."