The Mayor of London Boris Johnson is hoping Redbridge schoolchildren will be inspired “to be the very best they can be” through the words of an ode composed for the Olympics.

Every primary and secondary school in the borough has been sent a poster containing the Pindaric Ode for the London Olympics 2012.

The verse is written in English and ancient Greek with lines including “Behold this new Olympic torch, the flames that first blazed forth at Greece’s early dawn”.

The Mayor, who advocates the teaching of the classics in schools, said: “I hope the glorious achievements of this summer’s Games will have inspired children towards hard work and the pursuit of excellence, not only in sport, but in their academic lives.

“I hope this ode will stimulate their minds and instil a love of a rich period of history from which we can still learn much.’

It was composed by Dr Armand D’Angour of Oxford University and is inscribed on a permanent bronze plaque in east London’s Olympic Park.

In the Ancient Games, winners were honoured with victory odes.