Teachers who inspired us #CarryGobySeanKellz #FutureGroupNG via @myentertain9jar

Ann Maguire enthused pupils in her care. Here HARRY HODGES talks to those whose school careers owe much to one person.

TRAGIC: Ann Maguire who was killed this week and, inset, a former pupil shares his memories of her[ENTERPRISE NEWS AND PICTURES]

THE death of Ann Maguire has shocked the nation and devastated her family, friends and pupils.

Tributes left outside the school where she worked spoke of a teacher who was “one of the best” and “truly inspirational”.

One even told her: “You have made us into the people we are today.”

Here eight people talk about the special teachers who helped to change their lives.

RICHARD MADELEY

Broadcaster, journalist and author

MR LAWRENCE was my economics teacher at Shenfield Comprehensive.

I was nearly 15 and failing the whole of my secondary school career – I was languishing at the bottom of the class in almost every thing.

I remember after one economics lesson he asked me to stay behind and he said, “Look, in about a yearand- a-half you’ll leave this school because you’ll fail your O-levels and you’ll be 16 years old without qualifications.

There are lots of us here who really care.

We want to avert that and turn you into a success but here’s the thing.

The day you get your results and you’ve failed we’ll cease caring.

It was exactly the right thing to say to me and from that moment, that evening, I started working and I did fine and that was entirely down to him.

So many other people had given me pep talks, tellings-off, you name it but him putting it in those terms shone the light on it.

CLAIRE SWEENEY

Actress and singer

A LADY called Elsie Kelly.

She’s now in the TV series Benidorm – she plays Johnny Vegas’s mum – and was the first lady that told me I could sing and made me aware of my talent.

She changed my life really and put me on the road to my career.

She was my singing teacher when I was 11.

She singled me out and gave me a prize for singing and she used to sit and give me little motivational talks and encourage me.

One of the most upsetting things for me was when I went on This Is Your Life and they never got in touch with her.

I still contact her now and chat to her.

FABRICE MUAMBA

Former professional footballer, 26, who suffered a heart attack on the pitch two years ago

I CAN’T really just give one name, all the others will be calling me and asking why it wasn’t them.

A great teacher should be able to pass on the message but not too hard.

You need to find a way to be both a friend and in charge.

That’s the only way for them to be able to relate to you or to speak to you and that’s the only way you’ll ever understand what you require from each other.

If you have a good coach they can make you believe you can achieve anything.

They give you the confidence.

If your teachers believe in you then you feel like you’re all-powerful, untouchable, you can answer all the questions and conquer the world.

You have made us into the people we are today

A pupil of Ann Maguire

GLORIA HUNNIFORD

Television and radio presenter

MY OLD headmaster, Mr Woodman his name was, was absolutely inspirational.

I always remember that when I was at school somebody was caught smoking and he put it to the vote.

We all voted on whether people should be allowed to smoke in the quadrangle and in the end the vote said no, but he was very ahead of his time in putting it to a democratic vote and that made a great impression on me.

I can remember him walking around too, with his gown billowing around his legs.

ESTHER RANTZEN

Broadcaster

FOR me it was my head teacher Mrs Anderson.

Back then the things that I used to do, like writing a pantomime in class, were disapproved of by most teachers but she would encourage me.

She urged me to apply for Oxford.

When I failed an exam and was very upset she told me it didn’t matter and I could just sit it again and it would be fi ne and I did and it was.

She knew every girl in the school.

It was a school of nearly 1,000 children and she knew us all and she knew our families and she had a terrific sense of humour and was very, very accessible.

JILLY COOPER

Bestselling author

I HAD a wonderful English mistress called Aphra Lloyd.

She would inspire us.

She made English come to life.

It was just brilliant and I’ve had a love of poetry ever since and she got quite cross if we wrote badly.

Years later I went on This Is Your Life and she came on and I was in tears, I was so touched.

The best story about her is, I wrote a book called Riders which is very racy and she said: “It’s so sad that Jill – as she used to call me – has resorted to pornography.”

LORD MICHAEL DOBBS

Author of TV series House Of Cards

MY first headmaster at primary school was Ernie Vale.

I remember my first day at school, holding the hand of my older brother who was already there, and the first thing I heard was this bellowing voice which rang throughout the school and I was terrified.

Ernie was a man who could be quite ferocious but had an enormous heart.

He was inspirational and gave me a sense of order as well as, for those days, a pretty good basic education.

I gave the eulogy at his funeral, he made that much of a mark on me.

I remember knocking on his door to have a cup of tea with him and this brand new TV was showing a horse race.

We waited in silence until it finished.

Then he turned to me and said: “That’s good, I’ve just paid for the television.”

GRANT SHAPPS

Conservative Party chairman

JOHN HAZELL was one of my teachers at Croxley Green, near Watford, a junior school.

As we arrived, full of high spirits, for our first day he protested that we must enter his classroom quietly.

He sent the entire year group back out to the playground and made us line up and walk back in a quiet and dignified manner.

From day one we always had real respect for Mr Hazell.

The lesson he taught us was to demonstrate the standards you expect from day one.