HE IS the best friend of Harry Potter, the most famous wizard of all time, but Ron Weasley is now in the middle of his GCSEs at an Oxfordshire school.

No, it is not Rupert Grint – who played him in the record-breaking film franchise – but Duncan Cooper.

Never heard of him?

Well soon he will be gracing bookshelves across the world.

The 14-year-old, Year 10 Burford School student has been picked by illustrator Jim Kay as the face of the gangly Hogwarts student for the re-release of the novels, due to be published in two years’ time.

Mr Kay visited the school in July and took photos of students who resembled the teenage wizard.

His mum, Lynne, said it was JK Rowling herself who picked him to portray the youngest Weasley boy alongside Harry Potter.

Oxford Mail:

Rupert Grint, who played Ron in the Harry Potter movies.

The family found out last Friday that he had got the part.

Duncan who is blond and short, not tall and red-haired, didn’t have to take Polyjuice Potion to look like his counterpart.

He said: “I’ve seen a couple of illustrations and it really does look like me – but with red hair!”

The teenager, who lives in Milton-under-Wychwood, said he thinks he shares some characteristics with Ron but admits to not having finished the books. He said: “I am not a big reader but I have watched all the films.

“Ron is a really good character. In some ways I am like him, I think sometimes I could be him but in other ways we are completely different.

“I can be quite a bit of a joker though.

“I am a bit nervous about being on the books but I really can’t wait to be able to have them and so I can look back on them when I am older.”

Duncan thinks if he was a student at the wizarding school he would have been on the Quidditch team but he is more of a Chelsea fan.

Mr Kay said: “I met Duncan very briefly on a visit to Burford School, and despite it being a fleeting visit, and Duncan being a quiet sort of chap, I remembered him, and thought he’d be a good inspiration for Ron.

“Duncan and his family are great, I look forward to working with them, and Burford School, over the coming years.”

The new books are being released by publisher Bloomsbury from 2015.