A group of pupils at Coventry AP Academy, a school in the English Midlands, have been told that a pop star is visiting, but they don’t know who. Six teenagers, four boys and two girls, are sprawled on a sofa and sitting at chairs in the small soundproofed music room when the door opens and one of the world’s most famous musicians enters. “It’s Ed Sheeran!” a boy cries, leaping to his feet, astonished.
Sheeran, 33, in light-blue hoodie, dark trousers and trainers with pink laces, returns their excited greetings. He places himself at the end of the sofa next to a grinning girl who hugs a cushion close to her in a pinch-me-am-I-dreaming way. First to perform is Jamie, 16. He stands with a microphone and raps a song he has written, an apology to his mother for causing trouble. “No matter what I do, you’ll always be true,” he volleys fluently into the mike.
“Great flow,” Sheeran compliments him. Jamie, delighted, flush with pride, replies: “I know.” He tells the star he was singing one of Sheeran’s songs in the car on the way to school that morning. “Before you go,” he says, “I need a picture to show my mum.”