A ten-year-old boy is believed to have become the youngest Briton to recite Pi to 220 decimal places, after performing the feat in his school assembly.

Charley Thomas, of Wycliffe Preparatory School in Stonehouse, Gloucestershire, achieved the feat during a school event to mark Pi Day of March 14, after rehearsing for a week.

Pi is calculated by dividing a circle's circumference by its diameter. The first digits, 3.14, are well known, but the number is infinitely long and extending the sequence is difficult because the number follows no set pattern.

Charley said: "I'm not very good at standing up and doing something in front of people so I was a bit nervous at assembly.

"I had rehearsed at home and knew I could get to 220 places. I really like maths."

The number is used in engineering, physics, supercomputing and space exploration - because its value can be used in calculations for waves, circles and cylinders.

According to the Pi World Ranking List website, which names Indian Suresh Kumar Sharma as the person to recite the most digits of pi at 70,030 in 2015, Charley places 451st in the world.

Charley's headmaster, Adrian Palmer, said: "This is an incredible achievement and one that no Wycliffe pupil has done before. Charley received a standing ovation for his efforts in assembly and it was so richly deserved."