St Mary’s Catholic high school in Chesterfield has been one pupil and one teaching assistant down at various points over the past three weeks. Neither has a sick note but there will be no fine from the local education authority when they return. After all, it’s rare you get the opportunity to watch your brother or best friend play in a World Cup.

Harry Maguire’s 17-year-old sister Daisy, who is studying for her AS levels, and his best friend Danny Russell, a teaching assistant at the school, have been given permission to go away in term time. Together with a large cohort of Maguire’s friends and family they have travelled to Russia and from Volgograd, Nizhny Novgorod, Kaliningrad and Moscow have watched England’s march to the quarter-finals. Back in Derbyshire, Maguire’s former teachers are bursting with pride and an eagerness to share memories of a likable boy who excelled at sport. But they never imagined that less than a decade after leaving he would be playing for a spot in a World Cup semi-final.

“In all honesty at 15 or 16 I thought Harry had the opportunity to possibly make a living playing football but never thought he’d play in the Premier League,” Martin McKee, St Mary’s head of PE, said. “When he first joined us at 11 you could see he was one of our good players, he stood out. But did I look at him and think he’d be playing in a World Cup quarter-final? Absolutely not.”

Playing as part of an all-Yorkshire back three alongside Kyle Walker and John Stones, Maguire has impressed, particularly against Colombia, where he was a reassuring presence and made several marauding runs. It has been the latest chapter in a remarkable rise to prominence for a player who, unlike many of his teammates, was never in demand by Premier League academies as a teenager. Maguire came through the ranks at Sheffield United before leaving for Hull City and from there joining Leicester, where he was the only player not to miss a minute of the 2017-18 season.

At St Mary’s he was an all-round sportsman. “He was a good cross-country and 800m runner and a discus thrower,” McKee remembers. “When Harry came back recently to speak to the kids one of his memories was losing the 800m to another lad at a different school and he could still name him, which shows the internal drive he has.”

12 year old Harry during sports day at St Mary’s High School in May 2005. Maguire is presented with the House award, throwing the discus and is beaten in the 400m race- by his biggest rival at the time. Photograph: Courtesy of St Mary's High School

The school also takes some credit for his discipline on the pitch, which only briefly deserted him amid the histrionics of the Colombia game. “We have a big push on discipline,” McKee said. “A strong philosophy on how football should be played – the complete opposite of Colombia the other night. Harry mostly kept his head and I think he would have got that from us. I can’t remember one incident on a football pitch where I had to tell him off.”

At Immaculate Conception primary school in nearby Spinkhill, they remember Maguire sitting on the floor of the assembly hall to watch the breakfast matches at the 2002 World Cup in Japan on a projector screen. Headmistress Mary Emmot saw all four Maguire siblings come through the school. Laurence, 21, plays for Chesterfield and 26-year-old Joe is at Gainsborough Trinity. “They were all down to earth, no arrogance about them,” Emmot said. “We used to take them to football tournaments and when Joe and Harry were in the same school team for a while, other schools in the area said when we would win: ‘Oh well, they’ve got the Maguire boys.’ It’s surreal to think that little boy is now playing in the World Cup.”

12 year old Harry Maguire, right, with fellow high school cross-country champions. Maguire won the Year 7 boys competition. Photograph: Courtesy of St Mary's High School

Sue Cain, deputy head at St Mary’s, echoes those sentiments. “It’s absolutely incredible,” she said. “The whole school is covered in bunting and the impact he’s had on the pupils is amazing. Harry’s mum was worried about Daisy having time off to go to Russia but I said: ‘Get yourself off there, we’ll make up the time when you get back.’ Harry’s best mate Danny is a teaching assistant and we gave him a week off too. We don’t make a habit of doing that but you can do for these absolutely exceptional things.”

The four Maguire siblings regularly spend their weekends in the village of Mosborough in South Yorkshire where they grew up and their parents still live. Two years ago Maguire went to watch Euro 2016 as a fan with a group of friends. That same group – including brother Laurence – are travelling around Russia. His childhood friends, family and girlfriend Fern are still his closest confidants.

Neill Collins, now managing the USL side Tampa Bay Rowdies, was playing at Sheffield United when Maguire broke through at Bramall Lane. He quickly developed a fondness for the youngster. “I’ve got a massive soft spot for Harry and have been in touch with him over text the last few days,” the Scot said. “I may not be supporting England but I’m certainly supporting Harry. I’m eager to find out how he’s doing but he’s such a great guy that he’s always more interested about how I’m getting on.”

After playing a big part in taking Sheffield United’s academy side to the FA Youth Cup final in 2011, Maguire played his first full season for the Blades aged 18. “He was phenomenal in his consistency,” Collins, Maguire’s central defensive partner throughout that season, said. “When we had an FA Cup run we went to Aston Villa [in 2014] and he absolutely dominated Christian Benteke that day. This was a guy who was a top Premier League striker and bullying centre-backs every week and Harry had him in his back pocket. I think his biggest attribute is he’s so willing to listen. I’m not shy giving opinions but he was always so open to any advice and to take it on board and implement it.”

Maguire in action for Sheffield United against Fulham in the 2014 FA Cup. Photograph: Christopher Lee/Getty Images

Collins thinks Maguire has made the most of being at the World Cup, in effect football’s biggest shop window. “I couldn’t believe one of the top four or five Premier League clubs didn’t pick him up from Hull,” he said. “I think now the big clubs are going to have to pay the real big money. People are sitting up and taking notice of Harry Maguire.”