AFTER former Beamont pupil, Jesse Lingard, scored the winning goal for Manchester United in the FA Cup final on Saturday, staff and students at the Long Lane school have been celebrating.

The 23-year-old, from Longford, stunned Crystal Palace with a goal in extra time, which took the score to 2-1.

Craig Milburn, 45, is a PE teacher at Beamont Collegiate Academy and coached the school football team that Jesse played in.

He said: “Everyone was amazed on Saturday, he’s a cracking lad and he’s really proven himself.

“He’s a very down to earth young man and intelligent too. He didn’t let the football go to his head at school and he didn’t really talk about it unless you asked him.

“There was a buzz around the school on Monday. The students are just really proud to say that they go to the same school as he did.”

Jesse was already training with Manchester United’s youth academy when he joined Beamont in year seven and he played for the school football team in years eight and nine, when he was not busy with his United training.

Craig said: “When he would play football for the school, everyone was delighted to watch him and the other lads just enjoyed playing on the same team as him.

“He was always a difficult player for other footballers to get around but he never let it go to his head.

“In the classroom, his teachers say he was a great lad, very driven and just a genuine kid.”

Craig said everybody at Beamont is ‘immensely proud’ of Jesse and the school is planning to celebrate his FA Cup success.

“He’s a superb role model for the students, they feel they can look up to him.

“He was a very determined young man and he has a lot of the characteristics we are trying to encourage in our students.”

Craig, who has been teaching at Beamont for 22 years, is a Spurs fan but said he always enjoys watching Manchester United, especially when Jesse plays.

He said: “The pupils and the staff who taught him are really proud of everything Jesse has achieved.”