A GWENT school got a special visit from a famous former pupil this week.

Game of Thrones star Ross O’Hennessy went to Islwyn High School site at Pontllanfraith on Wednesday - to the delight of Year 10 and Year 11 pupils - to provide some advice on becoming an actor.

Mr O’Hennessy plays the role of Rattleshirt - the Lord of Bones in season five of the worldwide TV hit series. He is a former pupil of Pontllanfraith school, which along with Oakdale Comprehensive has merged to form Islwyn High School. 

He said: “As I walked back into the school I felt a rush of emotions.

“It has been twenty seven years since I wandered the corridors of A block, but somehow it all felt amazingly familiar and safe.

“Today I was here to give an informal chat to the drama students about the reality of becoming an actor.

“It is of massive importance to give key advice to this generation and the next at this delicate stage in their lives.

“I told them how at their age I secretly longed to be an actor but was too scared to tell anyone.

“ I gave them advice on how to gingerly step into the business of acting and to give themselves a chance to see if it was something they liked, but equally I informed them that it will need a dedication of will that many of them may not yet posses.”

He added that he enjoyed having a “good chat” with “intelligent questions” about his work.

“They asked some intelligent questions about my work, being an actor on Game of Thrones and what jobs I had most enjoyed,” he added.

“If I could just give them a glimpse of what it can be like to be a professional actor, then it was a success for all.”

Rebecca Llewelyn, a drama teacher at the school, said: “It was an amazing talk and he really inspired the pupils.

“It made people think that they can do the same as him.

“He has made them think that anything is possible.”