Somalian refugee Hannad Hasan, 17, was given a life sentence at the Old Bailey for Kiyan's murder in May last year.

Kiyan, who played for Queens' Park Rangers' youth team, was stabbed through the heart when he intervened to stop a play fight outside the London Academy in Edgware, north west London.

Hasan, who was in the year above Kiyan at the school, trapped his victim in a headlock and produced a penknife, which he plunged into the boy's heart.

The 17-year-old, who lived with his mother in Colindale, north London, admitted manslaughter but was convicted of murder earlier this month at the Old Bailey after three trials.

He stood in the dock with his head bowed as Judge Paul Worsley told him he had shown little genuine remorse for killing the popular, talented schoolboy.

The judge said: "This is yet another case of a wholly unprovoked stabbing in a public place, by a person who produced a knife and plunged it into the heart of their unarmed victim."

He went on: "Taking the life of another is always a terrible thing, taking the life of a talented, popular 15-year-old schoolboy who was known to you and who had done you no wrong and had everything to live for defies description.

"You have deprived his family and schoolfriends of a role model," he added.

The judge described victim statements from Kiyan's parents, which were read out in court, as a moving tribute to "the bright star in their lives".