A Reading basketball club has paid tribute to a 16-year-old former player who died at a Maidenhead lake.

Sean Norbert Anyanwu ‘got into difficulty’ in the water of Bray Lake on Monday, according to Thames Valley Police.

The Year 11 Cox Green School pupil was found at 1.30pm and pronounced dead at the scene.

A spokesperson from Reading Rockets Basketball Club said in a statement today: “It is with great sadness and a heavy heart that we announce the untimely and tragic death of one of our former Under 16 players, Sean Norbert Anyanwu.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with all of Sean’s mourning family and friends at this horrific time. Rest in Peace, Sean.”

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Their message follows tributes from his family and school headteacher.

Sean’s family said he “was the light of the family and he was everything we could have asked for.”

They wrote: “We are devastated by his loss and we would ask for our privacy to be respected while we grieve.”

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Mr Danny Edwards, Headteacher of Cox Green School, in Maidenhead, said on Tuesday: “With the deepest sorrow, we have learned that one of our Year 11 pupils Sean Anyanwu passed away yesterday at Bray Lake after getting into difficulty in the water.

"As a school community, our thoughts and heart-felt condolences go to Sean’s family and friends, I’m sure that words cannot adequately express the shock and agony they must be experiencing.

"As a parent myself, I cannot begin to express the utter heartbreak felt.

“Sean was a kind-hearted pupil with a close friendship group and had worked tirelessly in his recent GCSE exams to achieve his very best.

“As a school community we will gradually begin to process this difficult information and our sense of loss will manifest over the coming days and weeks.

"Grief can present itself in many forms, and over a long period. We are contacting the school community detailing support that they can reach out to during this difficult time.”