What Jude Bellingham’s teachers said about his school days in Stourbridge

Jude Bellingham produced another stellar display on Sunday night (December 4) as England beat Senegal 3-0 to advance to the World Cup quarter-finals.

The former Birmingham City star got an assist for Jordan Henderson’s opening goal, and played a huge part in the second after a driving run from midfield.

The 19-year-old has certainly hit the heights at this World Cup so far, and a bidding war is expected to erupt this summer, with the likes of Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United, Chelsea and Real Madrid all hoping to sign Bellingham.

Bellingham has had an astronomical rise from Birmingham City’s academy to being the most in-demand young player in world football, and his old teachers back in Stourbridge have discussed what Bellingham was like as a youngster.

Jude attended the Priory School in Edgbaston and Hagley Primary School in Stourbridge. While at school he joined Birmingham City as an under 8 after playing for Stourbridge.

In an interview with The Independent, the youngster’s old primary school caretaker at Hagley Primary said he could tell Bellingham was destined to be a footballer from a young age.

He said: “You could tell then he was quite a good little footballer and he was destined to be. He did seem to do that more than any other child. It became a joke. Every day the ladders were out. I kept them on standby because of that reason. He was a very pleasant lad. He always asked you to get the ball down nicely.”

His former year 2 teacher Suzanne Shackleton, who used to work at Hagley Primary School, said Bellingham was a ‘lovely lad’ as a child.

“Really genuine. Really personable. Extremely courteous and polite,” she said. “He was really dedicated to everything he did, not just his sport and football. Across all areas of the curriculum he was well-motivated and tried hard with everything he did.”

She added: “You’d see him every playtime, lunchtime, playing football out on the playground with his friends.”