A North Shields headmaster has spoken of the long lasting legacy an ex-student turned superstar has left on his school, due to his hard work and dedication in the classroom.
Singer-songwriter Sam Fender attended the Sixth Form of Whitley Bay High School as a teenager, where his love for music began to shine through - often being caught in the music department despite not studying the subject academically.
Now, almost ten years on, the headmaster of the school has revealed how Sam has left a long-standing legacy with his old college - and how he has indirectly given back to students who wish to follow the same successes in life.
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The front-man chose to attend the sixth form over on Deneholme after leaving secondary education at the John Spence Community High School in North Shields, and having a love of drama - initially seeking a career in acting - he took theatre studies as well as English language and literature at A-Level.
And Sam was praised massively by his past tutors, due to his work ethic and kindness.
Headteacher at Whitley Bay High School, Steve Wilson - who used to be Sam's head of sixth form, spoke to Chronicle Live about his past experiences with the singer while he was in education.
He said: "He was a very, very popular lad with students and staff alike. He was a great lad who got involved in loads of stuff at the school, you know, rock nights - he played in the band for the year 13 leaver's assembly...he really did do well here.
"He didn't do music as an A-Level, but he spent a lot of time in the music department - who can blame him for that given what he's ended up doing?
"We're chuffed to bits with his success."
Steve also went on to explain how the school and sixth form are now using Sam's music to help further educate their students - due to the powerful nature of his lyrics, and how well written they are.
He added: "We're actually using some of his lyrics in our Year Nine Key Stage Three curriculum in English, because they are quite powerful.
"So we've started to use some of his songs in our English curriculum.
"He did both English A-Levels with us and he was a really talented lad."
He continued: "His song lyrics have certain messages in them as well, which resonate with young people - and that's part of the reason why we're using some of them in our English curriculum.
"We're very proud of him, he's done fantastically well."
Due to Sam's hard work with regards to music - including no doubt the lyricism he honed in on during his time at the Sixth Form, he now finds himself nominated for three Brit Awards at the prestigious ceremony on Tuesday, 8 February.
He and his band are nominated for Artist of the Year, as well as Best Alternative/Rock Act - while his second album 'Seventeen Going Under' finds itself up for the coveted Album of the Year alongside Adele's 30 and Ed Sheeran's =.
Sam Fender will also perform at the official ceremony, sharing the stage with the likes of Liam Gallagher, KSI and Digital Farm Animals.
Viewers can tune in from 8pm, exclusively on ITV and the ITV Hub.
