Strictly Come Dancing: Hamza's Wellingborough School 'very proud'

Hamza Yassin and his professional dance partner Jowita Przystal received the coveted glitterball trophy

The 2022 Strictly Come Dancing winner's former school has said he has been a "huge inspiration" to its pupils.

BBC wildlife presenter, Hamza Yassin, 32, who attended the private Wellingborough School in Northamptonshire 2004-2008, lifted the glitterball trophy on Saturday.

Head teacher Andrew Holman said he was a "legend" and said the school was "very proud".

Yassin previously said he "would be nowhere" without the school.

A 16-year-old Hamza (back row, far left) was in the rugby team at Wellingborough School

The school's website said Yassin originally pursued a medical degree after leaving before switching to zoology, followed by reading for a master's degree in biological photography and imaging.

As one of Britain's up and coming wildlife photographers, he made appearances on BBC's The One Show and programmes such as Animal Park, Countryfile and Springwatch before being invited to front his own show on the CBeebies channel, Let's Go For A Walk, in which Ranger Hamza takes children on rambles.

In Let's Go For A Walk, Ranger Hamza and the Ramblers go on interesting walks through local parks and the countryside

Now living in a remote part of the west Scottish mainland, in December 2019, he went to Antarctica to film for a new season of Sir David Attenborough's The Frozen Planet.

Yassin, who had never had any dance lessons before taking part in the BBC's 14-week entertainment programme, beat Molly Rainford, Fleur East and Helen Skelton in the final, with viewers enjoying the non-dancer's progress.

Mr Holman, who joined the school in 2018, said he had spoken to a few staff who had known him and said "what you saw on the TV is what he was like".

"He was very down to earth, very rounded and wore his heart on his sleeve," he said.

"He was very new to the area as his family had only recently moved from Sudan, but he settled in quickly and was willing to give things a go and get stuck in, which is what he has done on Strictly and we are very proud."

A non-dancer when he joined the show, Hamza Yassin and Jowita Przystal won the public vote on their way to the title

He said the former pupil had shown what they try to instil in their pupils every day.

"We always say think big, think what you can achieve and give it a go, you never know what will happen, and that's what we've seen in the past three months," he said.

"It's about having a can-do attitude."

The head added that Hamza had been a "huge inspiration" to the school and that everyone was very excited knowing that he had once walked its corridors and classrooms.

"There are so many inspirational people, but as a pupil here, seeing someone who has come from where they are and have a job that they love and other strings to their bow, it's just wonderful," he said.

"You can't ask for a better role model.

"They say 'you can't be what you can't see' but this is the other way round, 'you can be what you can see' and the pupils think 'that could be me'.

"Learning to dance like that in just three months is a massive achievement and will be the subject of many head teacher assemblies."

Head teacher, Andrew Holman said he "could not have asked for a better role model" for pupils than Hamza

He added that it was now their "absolute dream" for Yassin to attend their summer school prize giving.

"Everybody wants a bit of Hamza at the moment, but we've been giving him a lot of shout-outs on social media throughout the series and to perk him up before the final, so you never know," he said.

Unusually, the school can actually boast two Strictly contestants as the Reverend Richard Coles, who attended the school in the 1980s, took part in the 2017 dancing contest.

Less successful than Hamza, the former Communard was the second celebrity to be voted off that year.

Apart from stage schools, Mr Holman thinks they are probably the only mainstream school to claim that double, but he is prepared to be corrected.

"It's not normally a thing that a school celebrates but it shows our pupils have a certain creativity and can think outside the box," he said.