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How Andy Burnham's school teacher inspired him to believe in himself

Image caption,

Stephen Harrington was Andy Burnham's teacher in the late 1980s and persuaded the now-MP to apply to Cambridge University

By Georgie Docker,Paul Burnell,North West and Jonny Humphries,Reporting from in Warrington

Published 28 June 2026, 02:00 BST

"He needed a lot of persuading to apply because he felt that as a working-class boy, going off to Cambridge wasn't for him. He didn't believe in himself, but he did it, and the rest is history."

These are the words of former English teacher Stephen Harrington on the advice he gave to a 16-year-old Andy Burnham in 1986 at St Aelred's Catholic High School in Newton-Le-Willows, Merseyside.

The man, now widely tipped to win any Labour leadership contest and become prime minister, has credited his former teacher with boosting his confidence at that pivotal time in his life.

"My son has been saying to me 'you've changed history Dad', but he likes a good phrase," Harrington said.

Image source, Getty Images

Image caption,

Burnham said his former English teacher "lifted him" to achieve more than he thought possible

Burnham returned to Westminster last week as MP for Makerfield, after a by-election was triggered by the resignation of the constituency's Labour MP Josh Simons.

Following Sir Keir Starmer's announcement on Monday that he would step down, Burnham is currently the only candidate running in a leadership election in the Labour Party.

Burnham grew up in Culcheth, a quiet commuter belt village in Cheshire, near Warrington, having been born in Liverpool.

He was entering his first year of sixth form at the local Roman Catholic comprehensive, when he joined Harrington's A-Level English class.

Harrington described him as "really pleasant" and a "bright lad", who was modest.

"Here he was playing cricket for Lancashire Schoolboys, which is a very prestigious thing to do in this area, and he never mentioned it to me.

"He was never sort of showing off or anything like that, he actually kept that to himself."

Figure caption,

Burnham's ex-teacher on encouraging him to go to Cambridge

Spanish and maths were the other subjects Burnham was studying at St Aelred's, and he told people he was considering taking a linguistics degree at university.

But Harrington said he remembers convincing him to study English instead.

"He was so interested in the poet Tony Harrison. So I gave him a lot more material, including a cassette recording of one of Harrison's latest poems, called V."

Tony Harrison was a poet and playwright born in Leeds in 1937 who was famed for his controversial work.

Published in 1985, the poem contains obscenities and references to the 1984-1985 UK miners' strike and union leader Arthur Scargill, with a reference to the division between the political left and right.

V was later broadcast by Channel 4 in 1987, and caused such a reaction that a group of MPs called for a debate about it in the House of Commons.

Harrington said he thinks Harrison's work showed Burnham that poetry was not something reserved for the middle classes.

"That was really what turned Andrew towards studying English," he said.

Image caption,

Tony Harrison was famed for his, often controversial, poems and works which spoke to his working-class identity

When it came to choosing Cambridge, Harrington said Burnham was "very reluctant, he didn't think he would be good enough and all this kind of thing".

"It was very much 'I know that's not for people like me' and 'socially that's not me'."

Harrington said in some ways Burnham's fears about going to Cambridge University "came true".

"When he went there he told me he found it quite difficult for a while and did feel a bit out of place," he said.

"But nevertheless, he found his own group of friends and he came through."

Burnham studied English Literature at Fitzwilliam College, Cambridge, where he graduated with a 2:1.

Image source, EPA

Image caption,

Burnham met his now-wife Marie-France van Heel during his time at Cambridge University

Most recently, The Mirror , externalreported Burnham as having said his former teacher was an "amazing man" who he still speaks to.

"He couldn't be more thankful towards me," Harrington said of Burnham's praise, and remembered when the politician travelled from London to attend his retirement from St Aelred's in 2003.

Harrington said he is flattered by the praise, but he did not want to overstate his own importance on Burnham's journey.

Image source, Getty

Image caption,

Burnham with Tessa Jowell in 2009, when he was health secretary and she was minister for the Olympics and London

Earlier in his life, Burnham spent the majority of his childhood living on Common Lane in Culcheth.

The street is made up of big, detached, roomy properties with plenty of garden space and several houses are listed for sale with asking prices in excess of £1million.

Many of the houses surrounding the former Burnham family home are occupied by relative newcomers, but one couple remembered him and his two brothers, John and Nick, and in particular their love of football.

'Football in the garden'

The former neighbour, who did not wish to be named, said: "When we moved here, I think Andy would be maybe 16 or 17, so he was almost going away to university.

"The three boys played football in the garden, a lot, and their footballs came over into our garden, so we saw and heard them quite a lot."

Her husband recalled how even in his teenage years Burnham was a good communicator and "remembered people".

"We only really met him just before he went to university and he was obviously very good then, so he'd learned those skills quite early on," he said.

Danni, who lives close to Common Lane, said her son attended college with Burnham's niece and said she occasionally sees the Labour man in the local Sainsbury's store.

She said it was "really exciting" that someone who grew up in the village could become the country's next prime minister.

"He just seems like a very kind of down-to-earth guy and I think he's going to involve the north a bit more which is always nice, because it's always very south-centric isn't it down at Parliament."

A few doors down from Burnham's childhood home was Lindsay, who only recently moved to the area but remembered him from his time as MP for Leigh - before he left Westminster to run for Greater Manchester mayor.

"I think it's a good thing for the North, I do, hopefully, he'll do really well," she said.

"He's just always worked hard at what he's done and he deserves to be where he is.

"You used to see him walking down Bradshawgate in Leigh all the time, waiting for you to go and approach him."

Image source, PA Media

Image caption,

Andy Burnham described the late MP Paul Goggins as his 'mentor'

Burnham has always remembered those who helped him, none more so than the late Paul Goggins, Labour MP for Wythenshawe and Sale East.

Burnham described Goggins, who died in January 2014, as his mentor.

At Goggins' funeral, the then MP for Leigh and shadow health secretary, said: "Every time I had a problem when I was first elected, I would call Paul Goggins – who do I call now?"

Wyn Goggins, Paul's widow, said the pair "were very close friends – in addition to their politics they were northerners who shared the same faith and loved football".

"Paul helped Andy a lot when he was first elected."

While excited that Burnham could be PM she has mixed emotions at the prospect and said it will be "hard" seeing him come under increased media focus.

"His lovely family come under so much scrutiny but they are strong and he knows what happens in politics."

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More on this story

Burnham could be leader in weeks under Labour timetable

*   Published 2 days ago

Who is Andy Burnham's wife, Marie-France van Heel?

*   Published 3 days ago

Burnham on course to be PM, but what would his No 10 operation look like?

*   Published 4 days ago

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How Andy Burnham's school teacher inspired him to believe in himself

How Andy Burnham's school teacher inspired him to believe in himself

'Football in the garden'

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