Miss Nunn

Last year, my husband organised and participated in an epic bike ride from  Queen's School in Chester to Buckingham Palace. This year, the team are endeavouring to cycle the length of Offa's Dyke from Prestatyn to Chepstow (some 200 miles). No mean feat - especially considering the current heatwave we are enjoying (suffering?!)

On Sunday night, I drove out to their scheduled overnight stop to show my support.

They were staying in Adcote School, a small independent day and boarding school in the most beautiful rural setting. The school itself was a gorgeous tudor style sandstone building with grand mullioned windows and set in extensive landscaped grounds. It was most impressive. Inside, the grandeur was still evident and as I walked up the main stairway, I couldn't help but notice a large oil portrait of Mrs Doubtfire!

It turned out that the costume designer on the set of Mrs Doubtfre was Marit Allen, former pupil of Adcote School. She had very clearly drawn her inspiration for the look of the character from the Headmistress whose portrait I was now admiring. The likeness was uncanny.

It got me thinking about some of the more iconic authority figures from my school career. One in particular sprang to mind. Ageing spinster, music teacher - Miss Nunn.

Miss Nunn had a face that always reminded me of the Child-catcher from Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. Upon those unfortunate pointy and unattractive features she would plaster thick foundation. I would not have been surprised to discover that it was actually stage makeup that she used, such was the thickness she achieved - and it would crack - further adding to the Child-catcher illusion. I distinctly remember being fascinated by the skin/make up interface around her jawline. As a result , I am always very careful when it comes to blending my own foundation (on the rare occasions I wear it).

Despite her sinister visage, she was actually of a kindly disposition. She was passionate about her subject but had absolutely no skills when it came to classroom management. She was regularly the target of abuse from the naughty kids in class and her voice would become more and more shrill as she tried to restore order. On one particular occasion, her shrieking and the escalation of bad behaviour from one pupil culminated in a chair being thrown across the classroom at her. It did not hit her, thankfully,  but we certainly did not learn much about music theory during that session.

Miss Nunn went by the nickname Winnie. I'm not sure whether her name actually was Winifred, but apparently she was named after or adopted the name of a famous concert pianist of the time. I have Googled 'Winnie concert pianist' but it shed no light on the matter for me. The name did suit her though.

There was much speculation about romantic liaisons between Miss Nunn and an elderly divinity teacher, Doctor Davies. I doubt there was any truth in the matter but there was a very obvious match between the two distinctly 'old school' dinosaurs. Nowadays, the internet has spawned 'fandoms' in which fanatics of popular TV shows can write their own version of the shows using the established characters. More often than not, this involves 'shipping' which enables the exploration of romantic couplings between characters that wouldn't necessarily have been in the original script writers intentions. At school, we all 'shipped' Miss Nunn and Doc Davies. We never tired of it!

The most remarkable thing about Miss Nunn for me was her choice of dress. She always, without fail, whatever the weather, wore a blue woollen two piece. I have to hope that she had a wardrobe full of identical blue woollen two pieces which she alternated but to all intents and purposes it was as though she never EVER changed her clothes. This idea was leant weight by the fact that the armpits of the outfit were discoloured to the most vile shade of brown imaginable. There was nothing more horrendous than Miss Nun enthusiastically conducting the orchestra (of which I was a member with my trusty clarinet). Her arms would wave at full stretch overhead to ensure everyone could see her (she was fairly diminutive in stature)  revealing the unsanitary armpit area in all its gruesome glory.

Had I gone on to become a movie costume designer, Mrs Doubtfire may have had a very different appearance!

Although I would find it very difficult to assign an age to Miss Nunn, she surely must be long dead now.  I wonder how many of the pupils who passed through the door of her classroom have such vivid memories of her as I do. A quick search on Friends Reunited Teacher Memory proved that she certainly hasn't been forgotten:



Miss Nun

Short, big boobs, Fancied Doc Davis ? Not sure why !

MIss NUNN

2ND 3RD year RE lessons... total chaos !

Miss Nunn

Miss nunn always had a white face as if she had dipped her face in flour before coming to School

In Praise of Teachers

All too often, teachers are criticised and blamed when there are issues with our children's behaviour or academic performance.  Whereas no doubt there are some that deserve it, in my experience, most teachers are dedicated, caring professionals doing their very best under what can sometimes be difficult circumstances.

Teachers come in many different guises. I had an eccentric, unkempt teacher who would pick his nose and wipe it on the blackboard. It was hard to take him seriously. Another teacher, despised by many for his short temper and lack of tolerance for any sort of nonsense, was an absolute hero to me.

It is inevitable that in any group of people there are always going to be some that you relate to and feel an affinity with and some that for whatever reason, you simply don't get on with. Why should it be any different with teachers? Whether it be a teaching style that doesn't suit, a personality clash , or even disliking the tone of someone's voice - there are all sorts of obstacles that can stand in the way of having a good relationship with a teacher.

The education system isn't perfect - there will always be teachers who fail to support or inspire their pupils - but it is what is it and we have to work with it. I have always tried to instil in my children that their education is their responsibility. Teachers are there to facilitate it but if they feel that they are not being given everything they need, there are other ways to approach their learning. I have been so proud of how my girls have been able to do exactly that and thrive. It is more than just a means to achieve a grade in an exam - it is a lesson in life about taking control, putting in the effort to obtain a result and most importantly learning that there will always be situations that are less than ideal and finding the best way forward.

Good, bad or indifferent, our teachers are people we spend a lot of our childhood in the company of. They influence us and it is hard to forget them.

My youngest daughter is just starting out on her academic journey. So far, it has been a very positive experience and I can't praise her teachers highly enough for their part in making her feel settled and secure and I have been greatly impressed by how much my little Addy is learning. After just one term in her early years setting she is confidently writing her own name and blending letter sounds to read simple words.

She has many years of compulsory education ahead of her and I will do all that I can to ensure that it continues to be a positive experience for her and that her full potential is realised. The teachers that she encounters on her journey will have an enormous part to play in this and I hope that the memories she takes into adulthood of her schooldays will be the very best kind. And just maybe there will be a teacher or two in years to come that will look back on their career and remember a strong willed, feisty little blue eyed blonde with an appetite for learning and will wonder what became of her.