WORLD Cup winning rugby star Lawrence Dallaglio - who lives in Ham - paid a visit to a Kingston school to receive a hero's welcome from one of the smallest packs he will face all season.

Youngsters at Alexandra Infant School sang the anthem Swing Low' as the 6ft 4ins England captain kept a promise to visit the school.

And the towering No 8 had a surprise when he met a teacher he hadn't seen for 20 years.

Lawrence spent almost an hour in the school hall talking to the children, aged five to seven, answering their questions and signing autographs.

He also signed an England rugby shirt worn by Sylvia Oates, who was his English teacher when the international star was a nine-year-old pupil at King's House Prep School, in King's Road, Richmond.

"I retired from teaching but wanted to keep up the connection so I now spend one day a week listening to the children read," said Mrs Oates, whose husband John is a former Vicar of Richmond.

"It was a surprise and delight to hear Lawrence was visiting. I have a clear memory of him as a sports-mad boy, only back then it was football rather than rugby. He would organise the boys into teams in the school playground and loved playing soccer.

"It is not often you get the chance to see children who you taught 20 years ago so it was a great joy. He is such a nice person and he handled the children's questions wonderfully. Children and staff alike were thrilled by his visit."

Lawrence, a local resident, managed to fit the visit into his tight schedule after the children asked him to talk to them about healthy living.

"I really enjoyed the visit," he said. "They were interested in how I got started in rugby and how much I trained. But they were also keen on how to be healthy.

"It was incredible to see Mrs Oates again after all these years and she's right, I was really keen on football. I loved the game and still do but when I got a bit older and bigger I found I was better at rugby than football."