Education Sunday - Teachers who have influenced us

We were asked to think about teachers who had influenced us, so here are the three that came to mind.

Mr Neale. A physics teacher at my senior school, whose lessons allowed us to experiment and who engaged his class with the practical things of physics as well as the theoretical things. He was responsible for me subscribing to 'New Scientist' for a number of years.

Mr Harris, who was never my teacher at all, but taught me more than many of the others put together. After and during exams we had lots of free time, which had to be spent in school. Mr Harris allowed me (even encouraged me) to help out in his class. He ran a game, which taught the children history, if I remember correctly. The game required quite a bit of practical help, and I was one of the helpers. I learned about teaching, and encouraging children to be engaged with the game and learn through it. As a sixteen year old it was a new world to me, and one I explored and enjoyed being involved in. It set me up for running youth groups in my 20s and 30s.

Ed Wilson, my sixth from maths teacher, the last in a long line of brilliant maths teachers, that made maths my subject. His worked with the three of us on the extended course, it made him almost a friend, and in the sixth form that is just what you need to learn. I passed the exam. At the end of the two years he took us to the pub over the road for a 'leaving drink'.