Clara Amfo can't stop crying. Thankfully, it's nothing we've said. She's just met up with her favourite French teacher, Madame Cargill, after almost 20 years. "You were always so glamorous," she says. "Of course," Madame Cargill smiles,"I'm French."
We're sat with the Radio 1 DJ and her former French teacher in a small reading room at Holy Cross School in New Malden, her old all-girls’ secondary school, surrounded by Judy Blume novels and students' book reviews. It’s still a few weeks before we’ll be asked to stay home, and it’s an ordinary school day. "I'm not sure teachers completely realise the influence they can have on students," Clara tells Madame Cargill. "It's made my day to see you."
"When you go into teaching, you don't think about the impact you could have," Madame Cargill agrees. "It's only when you meet past pupils that you realise it's the reason you do the job. I'm so proud to see Clara has achieved her dream of being a presenter. But we're not going to cry again..."
Tears dried, ELLE sat down with Clara to get nostalgic about her school days, including the teachers and lessons that drove her success.
I learnt the value of hard work in the classroom
School taught me to work for what I wanted. There are lots of -isms and schisms in the world of work. There are people who think you can’t do things because you’re female. I’ve definitely faced that in my career. I worked at one radio station where I was told I couldn't have a show straight after a friend of mine because 'no one wants to listen to two female voices back-to-back'. I later got the show - and record ratings. Sometimes, you have to work that bit harder, so that no one can question you.
French and English were my favourite subjects
French is such a gorgeous language and Madame Cargill made it fun to learn. She organised French exchanges for us because she wanted us to fall in love with her language and get to know her culture. I loved it because I had hot chocolate and fresh baguettes for breakfast every morning.
I enjoyed her classes because it wasn't just reading a textbook; she let us talk. She never made you feel silly for asking a question, which I think is so important, because we all learn in different ways.
I loved reading and writing too, and I really developed my love of public speaking in English lessons. When we wrote stories or studied poetry, we’d stand up and read them to the class.
A great teacher can see your potential
They’re someone who wants you to be your very best. They make you feel valued whether you’re an A* student or scraping a C. A great teacher is someone who has a natural empathy, but also knows when to push you out of your comfort zone.
That’s still something I try to do - to live without fear. I always knew what I wanted to do in life, but I think I've definitely talked myself out of doing things. I wish I’d spent less time being afraid when I was younger and just got on with it.
I wasn’t always confident
Secondary school is a complex time. On the one hand, you’re getting your brain fed and you’re making friends you’ll have for the rest of your life. On the other, you’re growing and changing; you’ve got the influx of hormones, societal pressures, all the typical things that teenagers go through.
But I think I always had this weird sense back then that I was going to be alright. It definitely helped having teachers who made you feel valued.
Oprah was my role model growing up
She was a real inspiration to me. I think it's really important, whatever your background, to see people in the media and public life that represent you. However, I think by deeming people role models, we put too much pressure on them. I understand it – we admire people and we want to project that in a positive way, but we don’t think about the person behind it. We all make mistakes. I don't mind being called a role model as long as people know I might mess up. I'm not perfect. Because who is? Apart from Beyoncé.
The biggest lesson I learnt was not to care what other people thought
There’s so much pressure on young people to be all these types of things apart from themselves. It's almost like you have to be this avatar version of yourself. The biggest lesson school taught me was not to worry about that.
If I could talk to my younger self, I’d say, ‘Clara don't do that to your hair. You're going to regret that in a few years! Maybe talk less and apply yourself more, because you're actually quite intelligent. You're alright. You're enough.
Thank you to all the inspirational teachers out there. If you're interested in learning more about a career in teaching and the options available to you, visit Get into Teaching
Alison is head of content for the Good Housekeeping Institute, responsible for product reviews across homes, beauty, wellness, family and food & drink. She lives by the William Morris quote that you should “have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful.”
Alison has over 15 years' experience as a lifestyle editor and has written features on everything from misophonia to how to dress like Claudia on The Traitors. She has also interviewed everyone from Dame Joanna Lumley to the Kardashians.
In her spare time, you'll find her hanging out with Monty the cocker spaniel and refreshing the Sezane website every five seconds.
