AN 11-year-old Four Marks schoolboy has been helping to record a song to encourage awareness about autism – and it has also helped Harry Clark to become more integrated with his new classmates.

Harry has been a pupil at Priors Court, a specialist autism residential school in Newbury, Berkshire, since September and the staff are trained to cater specifically for children and young people who have varying degrees of the condition.

He has severe autism, epilepsy, communication difficulties and “challenging behaviour”.

His autism is so severe that his mum, Sue Clark, said that until Harry became a pupil at the school “we have been housebound for 10 years not able to go out or eat in a restaurant, which has affected all the family who include my husband Andy, my 21-year-old son Jack, and daughter Daisy, 10.”

Harry has made such good progress that he was one of the pupils chosen to sing a song called Let It Shine produced by Priors Court to help raise awareness of autism and also funds for the school.

The staff enlisted the help of the band Low Island to write the lyrics and they got their inspiration from listening to how the staff talked among themselves and with the children.

After the recording, the youngsters taking part were all given a special T-shirt with Let It Shine written across the front.

“The idea,” said Sue, “is that the song will help spread the word which is what we want so people have more understanding of autism. Sadly, Harry’s is quite severe. So now he has settled down so happily at the school, where the staff are wonderful, we feel as a family that we are emerging from a long, dark tunnel.”

The song was released to mark World Autism Awareness Day.

“It has already been seen by nearly three million people,” said Sue. “And it has gone viral on Facebook, You Tube, Twitter, and the Priors Court website.”