There were one or two students I worked with for so long by the time we had our final class, they were older than me when we had our first class together! I’ve always relished the part of my job where I mentor students over many years to form and then reach their goals. Since the COVID pandemic, I’ve spent much more time helping students to keep motivated and organised through a tumultuous mixture of exam cancellation, school closure and dramatic shifts in modes of learning. When I think back on my proudest moments as a teacher, while I am delighted by news of a student’s' great academic results, I often think back to the simple moments where I realised that a previously shy, diffident or anxious student forgot themselves and told me about what they were learning that week with real enthusiasm.