School pupils 'blown away' as Ed Sheeran performs at assembly

Pupils at a Cardiff high school had a huge shock when Ed Sheeran walked into their morning assembly. The superstar singer performed for nearly 2,000 pupils at Fitzalan High School in Cardiff on Thursday morning, much to their surprise and delight.

A whole school assembly was in progress when staff and pupils were told to expect a special guest, but nobody could believe it when the pop star walked in. The visit marked the official launch of the Ed Sheeran Foundation, an initiative designed to support youth music education across the UK.

Welsh choir Only Boys Aloud had been singing for pupils at the assembly, and headteacher Mr Adam Lear said that most pupils and staff thought they were the only special guests. However, half-way through the assembly, Mr Lear walked in with Ed behind him. "It was incredible. He walked out and as you can imagine, everyone was absolutely blown away. The atmosphere was amazing," he said.

Before making his way to the assembly, Ed had already surprised 80 music students as they were performing. "Their faces were amazing," Mr Lear said. For the latest Cardiff news, sign up to our newsletter here

During the assembly, Ed performed two songs, including his hit Shape of You, with pupils joining in during the chorus. He then did a Q&A with the pupils. Mr Lear said he was "inspirational" and encouraged pupils to keep chasing their dreams. Ed was joined by Welsh songwriter Amy Wadge, who co-wrote Thinking Out Loud.

"It's been a very special day - the assembly was first organised to celebrate our 'outstanding' Estyn inspection," Mr Lear added. "Now that the visit is over, I've spoken to some pupils and they are just completely overwhelmed. They have been saying 'I was performing on that stage last week and now Ed Sheeran is performing on it'. The school is on a real high after the visit so we are delighted."

The 33-year-old singer also visited East Moors Youth Centre in Splott to speak to young people taking part in the Ministry of Life Education Project, which offers an alternative education course in music. Ed performed alongside some of the students.

In a post on Instagram, MOL said: "Ed Sheeran made a surprise visit today to the project and jammed with our talented students. The place was buzzing and we can't thank Ed enough for what him and his new foundation have done for us and our young people."

Speaking about his new project, Ed said: “Music education has shaped who I am. I’ve always enjoyed playing music, and it’s led to some of the best moments of my life.”

In an Instagram post, he added: “I set up @edsheeranfnd because recently there’s been less and less importance being put on music education. Even when I was in school it was seen as a ‘doss subject’ and not taken seriously.

“There’s a misconception that it’s not a real job – when the music industry accounts for 216,000 jobs in so many different fields, and bringing as much as £7.6 billion in a year to the UK economy. Not to mention the power our art has worldwide to bring joy to people. It’s something we should be proud of and championing in the UK, not sweeping under the rug and pretending we are just bankers (no offence to bankers obvz).

"It was incredible for my mental health as a kid, feeling a sense of purpose and achievement, even just learning piano or cello at a young age way before songwriting. I want kids to be able to learn instruments, learn production and songwriting, performing, and have apprenticeship schemes help them learn different skills to enter the industry.

"I employ 150 people on tour who all have different skill sets, there’s also labels, management, publishing, promoters. Music is such a key part of our society.

“The more I do travelling around and visiting schools and grassroots projects, the more I see there’s passion and inspiring people, who are being undervalued and underserved. I'm hoping this foundation is a start to giving them the support they need to keep going, and show them they are hugely important to us."

The Foundation has set out to work with communities, industry and government to make a change in how music has taught in the UK. "We want every child to have equal access to express themselves through music and opportunity to pursue a music career," they said.