As new terms get under way at universities across the UK, Business Argus has been chatting to local business people about their teachers and which ones inspired them...

Fiona Weaver, BSc(Hons), surveyor, Hutchings & Thomas Chartered Surveyors, Newport

My favourite teacher at Caerleon Comprehensive School was Ms Paull who taught drama and theatre studies, which I took for GCSE and A Level. Her lessons were always fun and you looked forward to them. She inspired me by ensuring I was successful, motivated and encouraged me to fulfil my potential. Those drama skills she taught me all those years ago came into use earlier this year when I was on an episode of Homes Under The Hammer giving a valuation of a former public house in the South Wales Valleys.

Chris Taylor, BSc (Hons) DipFA, operations director, Kymin, Newport

My favourite teacher was Mr Nigel Adams who was my economics teacher. He was given the funny nickname 'nookie'. He motivated me and helped me to believe in myself. This was opposite to some of the other teachers at Duffryn, one of which use to say to me, 'son you haven't got a snowballs hope in hell of passing your GCSEs'. Mr Adams also provided a reference for my first full time job. I look back and think of how he has helped me to develop and I'll always be grateful of that.

Dan Smith, managing director, M4 Property Consultants, Newport

Business has been a passion of mine since I was boy. I used to spend time in my grandfather’s business, soaking it all in. This passion was fueled in school, so much so, I left at 16 to pursue a career in it. I had an inspiring business studies teacher who opened my eyes to the fact that I myself could set up and run my own business. After gaining experience in various related jobs, I set up my own commercial property business eight years ago. I absolutely love what I do and believe this shows in the way we work with our clients and the results we obtain. I’m now involved in Young Enterprise, a UK charity that encourages young people to develop their personal and business skills, as I believe everyone deserves the opportunity to realise their potential and would encourage other local business people to get involved also.

Gareth Waters, Director, BrandNuCreative, Cwmbran

There are two teachers who stand out for me in particular. Firstly, my design teacher had a big influence on my career path as it gave me that first insight into the world of design and it was at GCSE / A level studies that I first understood what I wanted to really do as a career and therefore develop my skills in design before moving on to university. The second teacher I remember well is my physics teacher. He was a real character and was well respected by all students. However, if you did get on the wrong side of him you’d soon know about it! (Meter rules being slammed on desks comes to mind!) Funnily enough I met him at a networking event not so long ago, as he has since retired and set up his own business – and I still couldn’t get out of the habit of calling him ‘sir’!

John Newell. Director, Kingston Newell Estate Agents, Newport

I went to Duffryn High School in the 80s and I remember the female English teacher had a particularly interesting way of bringing the books we were studying to life by encouraging pupils to play out some of them. It made me think about doing things differently to engage with an audience and I particularly enjoyed doing this. I have tried to continue to use this approach throughout my career and now with Kingston Newell.

Jakko Brouwers, Director, Morrello Clinic, Newport

I was a keen sportsman in school and our PE teacher was always encouraging us to try different sports. I was born and raised in Holland so we played a lot of football, hockey and volleyball in school. I remember participating in taster sessions of rugby and cricket, which were both quite different sports from what we were used to with the former being a lot more physical. The teacher’s encouragement to experiment was inspirational and taught me that there are always opportunities to explore new things. I do this now with the Morrello Clinic and as a result we have established a reputation for trialling new techniques and equipment designed to support and assist people with brain and spinal cord injuries. Thank you Mr De Vries!