Harry Styles' first school teacher has spoken about the magic moment the pop superstar stopped his huge Manchester homecoming gig to find her in the crowds. Harry was performing for 74,000 fans at the Emirates Old Trafford stadium when he halted the show to try to find his "very first teacher Mrs Vernon" in the crowds.
After a couple of shout-outs, he found his old teachers from Hermitage Primary School in Holmes Chapel in the crowds. He thanked Mrs Vernon and Miss Wilson for teaching him in his "formative years" in the Cheshire village.
Now, Mrs Vernon has told of how she was "touched" by the heart-warming moment at the show. She also revealed exactly what it was like teaching the little boy who has gone on to become one of the most famous men in the world.
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It came on an emotional night for Harry, 28, who revealed that family and old school friends from Holmes Chapel were also in the crowds at his huge homecoming show. He dedicated a song to Mrs Vernon - leading the crowd into a huge cheer for the teacher, who was shown looking emotional on the big screen in the crowds.
Speaking after her moment in the spotlight on the Zoe Ball Breakfast Show on BBC Radio 2 this morning, Mrs Vernon said: "Thank you Harry for that lovely message, I was very touched by it.”
Revealing what Harry was like in his primary school days in Holmes Chapel, she said: "I taught him when he was four and five and he was adorable. He was a little bit of a monkey, cheeky, and he had lots of friends so a lot of his personality that you see now was quite evident from an early age.
"Later on in the Key Stage 2 he was in lots of performances, so it’s really in those years we saw how talented he was with his music. The best performance that I remember was when he was Elvis in the performance of Joseph that he did.
"But yeah, in everything he was amazing, all the teachers here are just so proud of him and so excited about this and everything that he’s achieved.”
Harry wowed his fans with the first of two nights at the Emirates Old Trafford Cricket Ground on Wednesday night. And it was a particularly touching moment when he paused with his usual set to seek out Mrs Vernon in the crowds and spotted Miss Wilson as well.
He said: “I just want to thank you for everything in those formative years. Thank you so much.
"It means a lot to me that’s you’re here tonight, you were truly wonderful teachers. Thank you from the bottom of my heart and it means a lot that you’re here and I’m dedicating this next song to you.”
He led the crowd in a huge cheer for Mrs Vernon. But before launching into Canyon Moon, he couldn't help but quip to the audience: “Can you imagine dealing with me when I was 4?" to huge laughter.
He swiftly added: "I was very fun.”
Canyon Moon was indeed a fitting tune to dedicate to Mrs Vernon as it refers to happy times in school days. It contains the lyrics "I'm going, oh, I'm going home."
The special moment with his school teachers came as part of a hugely emotional homecoming show for Harry and for his fans. He said: “This is an absolute pleasure to be here at my home show, I cannot begin to tell you how much it means to me to play here tonight and all of you for coming.”
He told the crowds that his family and friends from his home town were all in the crowds. He added: “Some of the happiest times of my entire life have been making these last couple of albums, and some of the happiest times of my life have been right around the corner from here. So it feels pretty perfect to me playing these songs to you here tonight.”
Former One Direction star Harry continues his Love On Tour 2022 tonight at the Emirates Old Trafford stadium, before heading to London for huge shows at Wembley Stadium.
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