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

BBC News · Jun 28, 2026, 1:00 AM · Also reported by 4 other sources

Key takeaways

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

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

"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.

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