NEW British tennis star Kyle Edmund has thanked pupils at his former school after he inspired them to write about his achievements during the Australian Open.

The former Pocklington Prep pupil, 23, became only the sixth British man to reach the last four of a Grand Slam when he was played Marin Cilic on Thursday.

Despite his defeat, his exploits in the Southern Hemisphere captured the imagination of some of Pocklington’s Year 4 youngsters, and he took to Twitter to thank them.

Year 4 class teacher Lizzie Kennedy said she was amazed and touched that Kyle took the time to reply after she sent him a tweet of a display featuring the children’s writing.

The British No 2 homed in on a comment from one of the Year 4 pupils who said: “I think Kyle looks like Ed Sheeran but can’t sing like him.”

Within minutes, Kyle replied: “Thank you to all the pupils who have been working hard to make these, it’s so nice to read:) and yes I agree I can’t sing like Ed Sheeran haha.”

Edmund attended Pocklington Prep School from 2002 to 2006.