Harvey Elliott: Fulham’s 15-year-old debutant, who has an eye for drama, was ready for centre stage say his teachers
Elliott attends Coombe Boys' School in South West London, where he excels at drama and was given a standing ovation by his fellow pupils after making his debut in the Carabao Cup
HARVEY ELLIOTT became the youngest player to appear in English football when he made his debut for Fulham aged 15 years and 174 days on Tuesday in the Carabao Cup.
The next day, the teenage prodigy was back at school receiving a standing ovation from his fellow pupils.
Elliott is studying for his GCSE's at Coombe Boys' School in New Malden, South West London, who have a partnership with The Cottagers to educate their finest talents.
It's the same secondary school that educated the incredibly talented Ryan Sessegnon and his brother Steven.
Luca de la Torre, who scored and provided two assists in Fulham's 3-1 win over Millwall in the league cup, also came off the Coombe Boys' School conveyor belt.
But it was Elliott who took centre stage - which is something he's apparently used to.
SunSport spoke EXCLUSIVELY to three of Elliott's influential teachers, including a drama tutor who admitted he has a natural flair for treading the boards.
His PE teacher waxed lyrical about his mercurial talents on the pitch, while his headmaster gave him an amusing dressing down for his man bun, while praising his student's humble attitude.
Headteacher David Smith told us: "He was back in school the next day, but he kept his head down.
"Harvey's quite a modest guy by nature. As far as he was concerned, it was just a normal day.
"I think he was very keen NOT to show off. I don't think that's part of who he is.
"He has a very supportive family and we work very hard in partnership with Fulham to make sure he doesn't get big-headed."
Elliott is currently studying for nine GCSE's, including drama, in which he's not been afraid to dress up in character for a role or show off his comic sense of timing.
And a day after appearing for the West London giants, he received special praise by his fellow students in the classroom.
Head of Drama Sam O'Reilly, 39, revealed: "He was given a round of applause as soon as he walked in the door, which he took in his stride."
O'Reilly also confessed Elliott is a natural born performer.
"To be successful at drama you have to work as a team and he's already developed all those skills with Fulham," she continued.
"He's very much a team player in the classroom and gets on very well with the lads.
"Harvey's a definite performer, you can see he has that in him. In his last performance in Year 10 he took to the stage and owned it.
"He has great, creative ideas which are always welcome in the drama classroom.
"In his first performance in Year 10 he played a viking in costume, which was very impressive.
"His most recent performance was in comedy, which was linked to the West End production The Comedy About a Bank Robbery."
Pietro Paliotta, Head of PE, raved about the attributes he's seen in Elliott that convinced Fulham boss Slavisa Jokanovic to hand him his first bow.
"He's really skillful, very direct and very creative," Paliotta, 41, said.
"What sets him apart is he does everything at high-speed. Harvey can do things at a split-second, which makes him different.
"He's also very competitive. We think he's very self-assured in the football environment."
Although it was a surprise to most to see Elliott's name on the teamsheet at The Den, Paliotta wasn't shocked.
He said: "He got a call-up for England, so we knew he was among the elite in his age group.
"I think he's had a brilliant couple of months and he's grabbing every opportunity by the scruff of its neck.
"But we're not going to take the credit because Fulham are doing a massive amount of work with their academy programme.
"All we're trying to do is give them a really balanced education and support them through that and make all the opportunities available to them as best we can.
"Coombe Boys' School is a rich place for sportsman to go and do well.
"Hopefully, we provide a springboard for them to do their studies and carry on in their sporting achievements."
With both Sessegnons present, Coombe Boys' School lifted consecutive PlayStation Schools' Cups from 2014.
Paliotta is hopeful that Elliott will have some sort of involvement in helping their school team achieve similar success.
"He's very influential," Paliotta said.
"We didn't have the best of years last year, and I think it's the last role of the dice for that cohort of players.
"Harvey's pretty motivated to fit that in and I think the others in his age group are going to have to step up.
"Obviously, we've got to be careful in balancing his playing schedules. But I know he wants a crack at winning the national schools' cup."
Headteacher Smith drew comparisons with Sessegnon and Elliott's determination to be a success, saying they're role models for other students to look up to.
He said: "What we can see in both of them, and something we do see in players that go on and be successful, is their mature approach to their studies and school.
"They're very driven, very respectful and supportive of others. Both Harvey and Ryan have shown that same approach.
"The relationship they have with friends, family and us - there's a lot of similarity there and that's the recipe to their success.
"Our strap line is 'Preparing You For a Life of Opportunity,' and that's where Harvey and Ryan have been so good for this school.
"What they've both demonstrated to our students is that you can achieve your dreams.
And that is something they can all realistically achieve."
However, Smith wasn't too impressed with Elliott's man bun - something he wouldn't get away with in the playground.
"At school he's not allowed to have his hair like that," he said.
"He normally has it down, it's very neat and it's befitting of the school uniform policy."
So even when he lets his hair down, he's still clearly a responsible lad.