Students at Auckland's Manurewa Intermediate were treated to a surprise one-off performance by British pop-star Ed Sheeran when he visited the school this afternoon. Sheeran is in Auckland this week as he prepares for the Auckland leg of his Mathematics tour. This afternoon he popped into Manurewa Intermediate to play some songs and speak with students. Deputy Principal Ross Devereux told 1News that aside from him and school leadership, none of the staff or students knew about the performance - to say the least, things got wild when he rocked up. Every Friday, the school finishes the day by singing in the hall, so despite it being Wednesday, it felt like a typical afternoon for the students. "I said to the kids 'I've organised someone today'. Obviously, I hadn't, but I had to give a story to the kids. [He's here] to inspire us with our singing and our journeys in life. "Put your hands together for Ed Sheeran." He said the response from the 900 students in the hall was electric. "It just went nuts; it was like he'd come out in front of Eden Park." Sheeran played three songs for the kids, with everyone singing alongside the UK hitmaker. Upon finishing, he snapped a quick picture with the whole school and offered some words of advice for the students. "He gave a really lovely speech to the kids about what it means to fulfil your own journey in life. "Find that one thing that you love doing and just do it, and don't let anyone deter you from it." Devereux said having someone like Ed Sheeran come to the school inspires the students. "The one aspect that I did love is that it supported our vision statement - adventurous risk takers; persistent focussed achievement. "What he said embodied that, and also when you look at his journey as a musician - he's worked his backside off since he was a young kid for his success. "In a world full of manufactured pop stars, it's so refreshing that the kids to see and hear that is inspiring for all of them." Devereux said it's also incredibly rewarding for the students who have had their education disrupted in recent times by Covid-19 and the Auckland floods. Sheeran also made headlines following his Wellington performance when he invited a Kiwi fan on stage to sing with him after forgetting the lyrics. He's set to take the stage at Eden Park on Friday and Saturday for his last shows in Aotearoa before jetting off.
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