Burnham was entering his first year of sixth form at the local Roman Catholic comprehensive, when he joined Harrington’s A-Level English class.
“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,” Harrington added.
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.
