Exam pressures played no part in the tragic death of an 11-year-old schoolboy who collapsed during a Sats test, an inquest heard today.

Talented athlete Leslie Elkington reported feeling unwell just 10 minutes into a maths exam at Shields Row Primary School, in Stanley, County Durham in May.

Leslie, a member of the school's football and cross country running teams, was rushed to University Hospital of North Durham but died later that day.

The case led to speculation about the pressure of exams on younger children, but an inquest into his death held yesterday at Durham's County Hall heard the tragedy was unrelated to school work.

Hospital pathologist Dr Douglas Maloney told the inquest that experts in London had been called in to help with the post mortem examination, but, despite a lengthy inquiry, nothing had been revealed which would account for Leslie's death and the medical team were satisfied that an unexplained change in heart rhythm was to blame for the tragedy.

"It is recognised that a certain number of people, even young people, simply drop dead," he said. "This can happen utterly out of the blue with no symptoms at all. The feeling was death had to attributed to this sudden cardiac death syndrome."

Turning to Leslie's 31-year-old mum Amanda Law, he added: "There is no way you could have had any warning or known it was likely to happen."

The inquest heard a moving account of Leslie's last day at the tight-knit school from head teacher Eric Patterson. Despite feeling breathless and dizzy, the bright pupil had more than once insisted on continuing with his exam, before he finally collapsed into Mr Patterson's arms and paramedics were called.

Speaking after the inquest, at which North Durham's deputy coroner Brenda Davidson recorded a verdict of death by natural causes, Mr Patterson said: "It's unnatural for the parent to go before their child and the school and teachers feel the same way - it just doesn't feel right." Since the tragedy, Miss Law and her surviving children Jack, seven, and Perri, six, have moved to a new home in Newburn Road, Shield Row. She said: "The kids are doing really well. They miss him greatly, we even talk to him around the house, but they are strong.

"It has given me a great deal of relief to know there wasn't any signs for me to have spotted. Tragic as it is and hard to accept as it is, it was just one of those things.

"I am satisfied that sitting his Sats had nothing to do with it. He knew his stuff and he wasn't worried about it at all - he was even quite looking forward to sitting his maths."