Harry Styles halted Manchester gig to find his school teacher

• Harry Styles was performing for 74,000 fans at Manchester homecoming gig. Tried to find his “very first teacher Mrs Vernon” in the crowds.
• Heartwarming moment at Emirates Old Trafford stadium “touched” Mrs Vernon.
• She also revealed what it was like to teach the young boy who went on to become a star.

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.

He discovered Mrs Vernon, as well as Miss Wilson, another of his old teachers from Hermitage Primary School in Holmes Chapel, after a few shout-outs. He expressed gratitude to them both for their guidance during his “formative years” in the Cheshire village.

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Mrs Vernon has since spoken out about how the heartwarming moment at the concert “touched” her. She also explained what it was like to teach the young boy who went on to become one of the world’s most famous men.

It came on an emotional night for Harry, 28, who stated that his massive homecoming event drew in relatives and old school pals from Holmes Chapel. He dedicated a song to Mrs Vernon, prompting a standing ovation for the teacher, who was shown on the big screen in the spectators looking tearful.

“Thank you Harry for that lovely message, I was very touched by it,” Mrs Vernon remarked during her appearance on the Zoe Ball Breakfast Show on BBC Radio 2 this morning.

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.”

On Wednesday night, Harry stunned his supporters with the first of two evenings at the Emirates Old Trafford Cricket Ground. And it was an especially emotional moment when he halted from his customary set to search the masses for Mrs Vernon.

After finding her in the crowds, 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 Mrs Vernon 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.”

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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.”

Harry, the former member of One Direction, starts his Love On Tour 2022 tonight at Emirates Old Trafford Stadium before travelling to London for two massive gigs at Wembley Stadium.