National Thank a Teacher Day: Winning Competition Entries 2025 29 Aug 2025

Have you ever wondered what teachers do after you have gone home?

Some say that they have boring meetings, and others say that they live at school.

This story begins with a student called Jamie, who is kind, enthusiastic, and loves being creative.

One day, Jamie was walking down East Path with a big smile on his face because he was looking forward to English. When he arrived in Q5, the teacher, Ms Claughton, was nowhere to be seen. At first, Jamie thought that she went to D4 by mistake, then he started to worry, as the clock slowly ticked its way around the numbered disk.

Jamie kept hearing very strange, high-pitched noises. Then, as he looked around the room with a puzzled face, he saw this tiny woman sitting on Ms Claughton’s chair. He said hello to her, and for some reason, she looked very familiar. As Jamie kept thinking, he soon realised that it was Ms Claughton.

Suddenly, Miss Bono arrived, and she told everyone to settle down whilst she was doing the register. With a huge thud, she sat down on the chair and crushed Ms Claughton. With a lot of strength, Ms Claughton had to swim in order to free herself from Miss Bono’s enormous bottom. When she found the exit, she started to pant like a dog. She then climbed onto the desk and shouted, “Hey, that was not very nice! You just sat on my face!”

Miss Bono screamed, and she fell backwards off the chair. After a big surprise, she realised that it was Ms Claughton, so she picked up the chair and placed all of the wheels back on the floor. She soon started to cry and said sorry to Ms Claughton.

Next, Miss Bono asked Ms Claughton why she was the size of a button, and she said, “Last night, there was a boring meeting after school, so I used Mr Spencer’s shrink ray, and I tried to escape. When I got to my car, I made myself big again. Then, when I got home, I started to have some food and watch the BBC News.

The next morning, I arrived at school again, and I tiptoed to my office. When I opened the door, I saw Mr Keane sitting in my chair, with his feet on my desk, whilst drinking from a cup that said ‘I hate Mondays.’ He said to me, ‘Sit down, we need to talk.’ Then, a very confused me sat down on a chair, and Mr Keane asked me about where I went yesterday during the meeting. I said that I was sorry.

After Mr Keane left, I sat down on my desk and looked in a small, metal, shiny mirror. I pointed the shrink ray at it and did a few poses. Then, by accident, I pressed the button with my arm and said, ‘Oh no, not again!’

Then she realised what time it was, so she made her way to the English classroom—and then she got crushed by a massive Miss Bono.

After Ms Claughton said that last part, Miss Bono said, “Maybe we should forget about the part where I crushed you.” Then the whole class started to laugh.

Since then, Miss Bono has been banned from covering English. After a shocking lesson, Ms Claughton made herself big again, and everyone had smiles on their faces. Everything was back to the way it should have been.

Since then, Miss Bono has been banned from covering English. After a shocking lesson, Ms Claughton made herself big again, and everyone had smiles on their faces. Everything was back to the way it should have been.

The End.

In lessons Miss stood before,
We would all listen or ignore,
Now in lessons we watch and learn,
For fun and joy is what we earn,

For sitting there, for being there that day,
For hearing what she has to say,
On one side of the class is me,
And each Wednesday there is glee,

That Miss is here, that she is our Miss,
That she teaches all of us with bliss,
I don’t know how I got this teacher,
But me and my class will always need her,

To give us all inspiration and hope,
For us in the rest of the week to cope,
With stress and school and being away,
Until there’s computer science that day,

Wednesdays are the greatest days,
Because of my teacher in the best ways!

In a small town tucked deep within the countryside, autumn leaves fell like rusted coins. Saturday mornings burned with the promise of football. Early one of these Saturday mornings a father and son took to the field. Jonah, 12 years old, had a flicker of fire behind his stormy blue eyes; he played not for the glory but for the love of the game. His father – Coach Turner – was as brave as a bear. They coached and played for the Riverton Storm – the local football team.

For many years the Storm had enjoyed unchallenged success, but this season under the laughter and smiles a darker current stirred. The Brookfield Raiders. Their head coach was a man of sharp barked commands. He pushed the boundaries of fairness and respect.

Coach Turner had a history with the Raiders coach (Coach Flint). Their past weighed heavy on Coach Turner’s shoulders. They’d once lined up side by side as teammates but when Coach Flint showed his true colours it broke Coach Turner’s heart. Now decades later they faced each other again.

The Storm were led with a quiet determination, every player was valued for their individual strengths. Coach Flint preferred to act as if heading to war. From the first game of the season he made his grudge known. Taunts across the field, late tackles his players were never penalised for and the worst, cruel digs at Jonah. The past hung over Coach Turner like a tempest cloud.

Was it fate? The Storm were drawn against the Raiders in the county finals. Coach Flint laughed. He thought it was obvious that the Raiders would conquer the Storm with ease. The crowd buzzed with tension. Jonah was disheartened, his boots felt heavier, his love for the game once a raging flame was now dying embers. His father knelt beside him and told him “don’t let this match break you, remember play your game not his.”

The first half was like trying to climb the tallest mountain for the Storm. They trailed 3-0. At halftime Jonah could hear shouts from the other changing room. His belief was disappearing like sand between fingers. Coach Turner put his hand on Jonah’s shoulder and said “playing fair isn’t about winning, it’s about showing who you are.”

Jonah looked at his dad, deep down a decision was made. The team played with everything they had in the second half. In the dying moments the ball was passed to Jonah, he calmly took a touch and struck the ball with great ferocity. It flew with precision into the top left corner of the net. 4-3 to the Storm!
Coach Flint was shocked to silence. This was louder than the sound of the crowd to Jonah. His father stood smiling at the edge of the field. Jonah ran to him “we did it!” “No, you did it son,” said Coach Turner. Kindness always prevails.