Slade star Noddy Holder returned to the classroom in his Black Country home town – and revealed it’s where he could have spent his career if it wasn’t for music.

The 64-year-old admitted he was keen on becoming a teacher before he found fame as a singer with the rock band.

He got the chance to speak to teenagers at Alumwell Business and Enterprise College about careers such as music and the media.

Noddy, who attended the former TP Riley school in Bloxwich, talked to a class of year eight pupils for around an hour.

It included discussions about different jobs within industries which can range from being in front of a camera to stylist and youngsters were encouraged to work hard to reach their ambitions.

Noddy, who grew up in Beechdale, was one of a number of celebrities taking part in teaching yesterday as part of a week of action by charity Teach First.

He said: “I was going to be a teacher if I wasn’t a musician. I would have loved it, I would have wanted to teach history. I always did my homework and I loved school.

“I am a great believer in showing kids they can come from very working class backgrounds and go on to bigger and better things, but they have got to put the hard work in.” Noddy proved a hit with the youngsters who knew him for his Merry Christmas Everybody hit.

They said he would have made an excellent teacher had he not decided to become a rock star.

Emily Shade, aged 13, said: “When he walked into the room I didn’t know what to expect.

“I had heard of him because of the Christmas song and he was very nice. He told us to always follow our dreams.”

Asim Ali, also 13, added: “The first I had ever heard of him was on Monday. I found him interesting and he knew what he was talking about. He told us if we work hard we can get where we want to be.”