Pupils left shocked by surprise performance

Ed Sheeran stunned pupils when he made a surprise appearance during a school concert in Cardiff.

The pop superstar performed for a crowd of 2,000 in the main hall at Fitzalan High School, before moving to a community centre in Splott.

“It got me shaking,” said 17-year-old Year 12 pupil Kia, adding: “I had goose bumps.”

The group had been listening to an Only Boys Aloud performance celebrating the school’s excellent performance report when unexpectedly Sheeran took to the stage.

His appearance was part of the launch of the new Ed Sheeran Foundation, which advocates for the teaching of music in schools across the UK.

The foundation aims to improve access to music for more than 12,000 children and young people by providing instruments, creating performance opportunities and opening pathways into the industry.

Sheeran said music in schools has often been seen as a “doss subject” and not taken seriously, despite the music industry accounting for hundreds of thousands of jobs and bringing billions of pounds into the UK economy.

“It’s something we should be proud of and championing in the UK, not sweeping under the rug,” he said in an Instagram post.

Sheeran’s Welsh song-writing partner Amy Wadge helped make the event happen in Wales.

“It was so amazing,” Kia said.

“We didn’t know he was coming… everyone was just so shocked.”

Sheeran performed two songs, Thinking Out Loud and Shape of You, followed by a question and answer session with the audience.

“He told us he was from Ipswich, small like Cardiff,” said Kia, “and that his teachers were really good to him like ours are and that motivated him to chase his dreams.”

“It was surreal,” said Year 13 music student Maxime, 17, adding: “Here you’ve got Ed Sheeran playing songs you hear on the radio… it changes your school experience really.”

Acting headteacher Adam Lear said it happened during a whole school assembly for the 1,800 students and 200 staff.

As Only Boys Aloud performed for the group, behind the scenes 80 music pupil from Year Nine and above were meeting with Sheeran and Wadge before he joined the main show.

“The pupils were absolutely overwhelmed,” he said.

“No one was aware that this was going to be happening, only myself initially.”

“You could see from their faces they were absolutely blown away with what was happening,” said acting headteacher Adam Lear.

Maxime, who plays bass in a Welsh-language band, was among the pupils who met Sheeran privately.

He said they asked him challenging questions, including how Sheeran manages writer’s block.

“He talked about writing some songs he doesn’t like as much at the moment,” he said.

“He was saying ‘you’ve just got to write as much as you can, try and improve and always believe in yourself’.”

Paige Cooper, 17, was encouraged to continue in her drama and music studies.

“He was talking about how music as a subject is often looked down upon and how he just hustled from school,” she said.

“It was good to hear because often creative subjects are quite looked down upon.”

She said it taught her the importance of “putting your work out there”.

Another pupil, Katie Brown, 17, said the group was “shocked” when Sheeran walked into the room.

“He gave us an inspirational speech about trying to work hard and no matter how much you fail just keep going,” she said.

Sheeran then moved to the Eastmoors Youth Centre in Splott, performing in front of students from Ministry of Life Education (MOL Education), which provides alternative education through music.

Michael Ivins, director of MOL Education, said he was “shocked” when he was contacted by Sheeran’s team and discussed a potential visit.

“They asked us what we wanted, and we said money’s one thing, but it would be better if he would come down and do a workshop, and he took that on board,” Mr Ivins said.

Mr Ivins added that Sheeran’s foundation provided an undisclosed donation to the organisation that would help them organise their annual Cardiff Music Concert.

“It’s going to be bigger and better this year because now it’s sponsored by Ed Sheeran,” he said.

“What he’s done is he’s lit up the lives of the young people, the staff, the organisation – the waves of positivity he has created will be felt for years to come.”

Oscar Sheppard, a teacher for MOL Education, described Sheeran as a “top bloke”.

“Everyone was wanting photos of him – and really amazed that he was in Splott. He’s given so much inspiration to these students,” he said.