Ayr teacher makes school cool

Oct 29 2010 by Stuart Wilson, Ayrshire Post (main ed)

A TOP teacher has been praised by her pupils – for making school cool.

Leigh Anderson, who teaches religious and moral studies at Kyle Academy, is so popular that pupils spend their lunchtime in her classroom.

Now they’re celebrating her victory as Ayrshire’s best teacher at a community awards show.

Bubbly Leigh, who was nominated by her second year pupils, insists she does nothing special to merit any praise.

But her pupils, who’ve formed a special Glee club under her leadership, couldn’t disagree more.

Aida Laventaki, 13, revealed: “Miss Anderson is more like an auntie than a teacher to us.

“She’s made R.E a subject that we all enjoy doing – and I never thought I’d be able to say that.

“Coming to class is fun and she’s just a great teacher, which is why we all decided to nominate her for this award.”

Classmate Blair Stobie, also 13, added: “Your enjoyment at school depends a lot on the teacher.

“Miss Anderson has taken R.E to new levels and I actually look forward to it now.

“All of us love the atmosphere she creates in the classroom and we can’t wait to be here.”

Connor Lee-Bourke, 13, added: “Life in the classroom is so enjoyable.

“I now want to take R.E as a subject and it’s all thanks to Miss Anderson.”

The super-popular teacher, who is known as Kyle Academy’s version of Mr Schuster from the hit TV show Glee, lifted her best teacher title at the West Sound awards.

But she insists the title could have gone to any teacher.

Miss Anderson, 30, said: “I’m just doing my job.

“I love every single part of teaching and the pupils are such an inspiration to me.

“I love it when they walk in every morning and I find that they teach me things just as much as I teach them.

“When I found out I’d been nominated, I ran to the boss screaming with excitement.

“It’s been a very humbling experience to realise how much the pupils enjoy their time with me.”

And proud Kyle headteacher Eileen Brown added: “Leigh Anderson encompasses everything we need teachers to be.

“All of the staff at Kyle aspire to achieve this standard and Leigh is a great example of how we strive to improve all the time.

“Her relationship with the children and is truly fantastic.”