RESEARCHING a project for his GCSE in PE has led to a Feltham schoolboy playing for the Algerian ice hockey national team.

Khalid Abdulwahid, 16, was set a school project at Heathland, in Wellington Road, Hounslow, earlier this year.

Being an ice hockey keeper for Streatham Scorpions, he decided to combine his passion with his roots and write about the Algerian national side.

And the contacts he made led to a representative coming over from Algeria to watch Khalid play for Streatham, and they signed him up straight away.

He made his debut in a doubleheader against France on May 19 and 21, and after losing the first game 11-3, Khalid helped Algeria to their first-ever international victory in the second, winning 6-5.

One would be forgiven for thinking ice hockey would be as alien to a North African country as the bob-sleigh was to Jamaicans, as immortalised in the film Cool Runnings.

But Algeria has strong former colonial links to France, where ice hockey is second only to football in popularity.

Proud dad Hassan Abdulwahid said: "It's been an unbelievable few months. The guy from the Algerian national team came over to see Khalid play in March, and now he's helped them to their first-ever win.

"They said a lot of the team was made up of players from France who are nearing the end of their careers, but they wanted to bring in promising young players like Khalid.

"The games he played went really well, and he's been invited back to play in the Arab Cup in Kuwait at the end of June.

"He currently plays for Streatham's U16s, but next year he'll be old enough to play for the senior side. However, there's been some interest in him from France as well.

"Khalid couldn't believe it. He was being asked to sign autographs in France and was playing alongside a guy who's like David Beckham out there.

"But his feet are firmly on the ground, and he's concentrating on his studies to go to Kingston College next year, and his school has been very supportive."

Khalid has been into various forms of the sport since taking up roller hockey as a six-year-old.

Starting out with a Hounslowbased side called Skatezone, he also featured for Heathrow Reapers before switching to ice hockey and turning out for Slough Jets and Streatham.