Who influenced you at school?

An English teacher in Senior school by the name of Miss Loyd. She would brook no nonsense, would throw the chalkboard duster at miscreants and could not abide grammatical errors. She loved Shakespeare and Browning and was a thoroughly neat and inspiring person.

I had an English Teacher at school and she not so much Influenced me as made me realise there are all sorts of different people in the world, she was the first person that I had met from Poland. I wonder what ever happened to her.

Teachers do make a difference in the world, they can be a replacement for absent parents, they can be a better kind of Parent than present parents. I think they are very important people. Not sure they know it though. They are definitely not appreciated enough, I don't think.

Miss Wagstaffe. A spinster who wore her hair in two plaits coiled over her ears like earphones, dressed do widely, was as thin as stick, but was my science teacher who inspired me to try and take physics chemistry and biology separately at 'O' level, without which I couldn't have gone to tech to take 'A' levels and study medicine.
The school did general science

My deputy head teacher when I was choosing my options for A level. Despite the fact that I was in the top set at grammar school she quashed my dreams of being a vet and told me I should settle for a 'nice little secretarial job where you can look at the animals in the fields'

In other words I was the wrong class of girl to aim for university. I had little enough confidence as it was, and she convinced me (for a time) that I should know my place in the world. I did go to university though, but I never became a vet

My hero is Mr Bonnett - I wish I knew where he was so I could thank him - I was hopeless at Maths, could never fathom things out ( perhaps cos I moved school a lot at primary ) I got 'demoted' to a CSE group from O level in 5th Form with all the other no hopers..
He took us right back to basics, adding , multiplying, and built on our confidence - every one of us got a CSE grade 1 , equalling a C at O level, which opened all the doors to future employment
Thank you Mr Bonnett !!

Miss Lever - English teacher. I would never have achieved what I have without her

Sue Lawley who used to host desert island discs spoke at prize giving at the school where my husband used to teach. She said that she was both moved and impressed by the number of guests who spoke so warmly of the huge influence of specific teachers in their lives

I failed my eleven plus and went to the local sec. mod. Two teachers stand out. Mrs. Clark who taught English Language,, and Mrs. Hooton who taught Biology. I didn't realise their influence until I began my Nurse training. Another person I will always be grateful to is Sister Hazel Carruthers. She got me through my state finals. Only five of thirteen starters qualified. I owe her a debt of gratitude as Nursing has been a marvellous career, and enriched my life in so many ways.

PS, I became a Registered Mental Nurse ( I can't be doing with all that blood and infection) yuk.

the girl in the 6th form with dyed blonde hair, backcombed into a beehive and who made sure we all knew she used Tampax and not Dr Whites by keeping them openly in her satchel! She wore mascara to school too!

The French teacher in the sixth form who understood my antipathy to school and managed to trust me and give me enough free reign and information to learn independently, which suited me better. A lesser teacher would have written me off as a pain in the butt! Thank you Mr Main.

My music teacher, Mr Parkinson, who said I was going to end up working behind the counter in Boots, where I was a Saturday girl. I went to university just to prove him wrong. I subsequently became a headteacher and met him at a school reunion. By then he was a dreaded Ofsted inspector - thankfully in a different area.

At secondary school my English teacher, Mr Kinnear - known affectionately as Streaky because he was tall and thin - introduced my class to Gerard Manley Hopkins and from then on I was hooked. I also came to love The Canterbury Tales through another teacher whose name I can't recall. He was Irish and I just loved his lessons too.

Also my Latin teacher who told me I would fail O level - I did very well just to spite him. Looking back I think he had me sussed and knew very well that would spur me on!

Nobody. I changed schools so many times I didn't really form a relationship with any of my teachers.

Mrs. Marsh my English teacher. She introduced me to Shakespeare and a love of books. She made me understand constructive criticism and made me a better person because of it.
She never managed to stir any enthusiasm of talent for poetry in me though.

My English teacher, my history teacher and my biology teacher in high school. The drama teacher and the "Phys Ed" coach. All the people who knew me and taught me from the age of 6 to the age of 18 - I was lucky enough to go to one school my entire life (infant class, junior school, high school).

My mother who would walk a detour to bring my lunch that I had forgotten at home, to school and pass it to me in the playground, through the hedge before rushing off to get to work on time.

The woman who ran the second hand blazer shop and never made me feel 'less than' for coming to her for a blazer for end of year prizegiving or any other time I was representing my school.

My French and German teachers, at prep. school and later, who demonstrated that there was a world outside the UK. One was Belgian, one was Austrian, and the English ones had broad horizons.

Definitely my English teacher. Shakespeare, good books, and how to hitch your skirt up when standing in front of a stove on a cold winter's day to warm your nether regions.

Bless her. Although she must be long gone now.

Who influenced me was Mrs Castle, my form teacher at junior school, who taught us well and was liked and respected. Having moved school a few times, I was way behind with my maths and she gave me exam papers to do in the holidays to help me catch up before going on to secondary school. It did the trick - from 45th in the class maths exam I rose to 8th. I've never forgotten her - kindly grey eyes, slightly weather beaten complexion. I thought she was ancient but, looking back, I think she was probably in her mid-forties.

What influenced me - and I'm sure many other young people - was not passing the 11+. From then on I saw myself as "not very bright". This was reinforced by the limited choice of subjects that were open to us as we progressed through the school. I and nearly all my friends ended up doing shorthand typing.

No, no teacher had a seminal affect on me. I had teachers I liked, usually English teachers, but generally I was the awkward child that no teacher could fathom and most couldn't be bothered with, but it didn't bother me much either, I followed my own particular star and got where I wanted to go (university).

I had one close friend, another member of the awkward squad and between us we were low level subversives and I am sure, and hope, very irritating.

The teachers who influenced me the most were the ones who praised my efforts rather than picking holes. I wasn't much good at anything but maths (largely due to my dad - not the teachers) but Mrs Rook, Miss Wellbourne and Miss Gibson stand out as being really 'human' and probably the beginning of a new breed of teachers!

The worst teacher I had was a Domestic Science teacher who told me she hoped I never had children, as they would obviously starve, after I rubbed in sugar with the fat and flour rather than adding it after! I've probably mentioned that before at least twice!!! I'm not bitter!

I love cooking and am actually quite good at it but it took a long time to gain confidence! DH and my five children seem to have few complaints!

I can't honestly say that any teacher influenced me in a positive way - most had the opposite effect.

I have fond memories of music lessons and the music teacher (Miss Lewis) but I can't say she actually influenced me at all. I loved PE and excelled at it but I detested the PE teachers.