A Hitchin schoolboy with autism is set to raise money to help combat a highly contagious killer disease by taking on a periodic table challenge.

Whitehill Junior School Year 5 pupil Max Emson is set to recite the entire tabular arrangement of chemical elements in a class assembly to raise money for Oxfam’s Ebola appeal.

Max’s mum Helena Hon said: “I’m so proud of Max. People say he is amazing. He is autistic and because of this he has obsessions and a lot of worries.

“Recently he has become concerned about Ebola. He’s really scared of the disease and worried he might get it.

“Max has always had obsessions, one of which relates to the periodic table.

“It all started when we took him to the Science Festival at Cambridge University when he was in Year 3. We attended a lecture on the elements and since then he has spent many hours analysing the table and the elements.

“So now Max is going to recite all the elements in order at a class assembly next month.

“All his classmates are backing him and I think they respect him. His teachers have also been really supportive, really understanding and have been a great help.

“Two years ago the whole school gave him a cheer when he recited Pi – made up of around 10 trillion decimal places – to 380 decimal places, and raised more than £200 for the Garden House Hospice in Letchworth.

“I think it’s a good thing for him to do this as he is making use of his obsessions in a positive way to overcome one of his anxieties.”

Nine-year-old Max added: “I stopped watching Newsround because I was a bit scared to hear news about Ebola.

“Would you like to help fight Ebola and save the world? Then please sponsor my periodic table challenge and save lives.”

To sponsor Max visit www.justgiving.com/MaxE/