Two north-east businessmen have lent their support to a Scottish Government campaign to encourage more university graduates to become teachers.
Last week, the Scottish Government launched Inspiring Teachers, which asks people to share their classroom experiences that shaped their lives.
Housebuilder and Aberdeen FC chairman Stewart Milne and John MacDonald, managing director of oil and gas firm Optio UK have now shared their memories as part of the campaign, which focuses primarily on science, technology, engineering and maths.
Mr Milne attended Tough Primary School and Alford Academy, but left at the age of 15 with no qualifications and went on to become an apprentice electrician.
Now a successful businessman, he realises he got a good grounding in the main subjects and has retained more than he realised – which he put down to the teachers, especially PE teacher Mr Harve and technical teacher Mr Adams.
He said: “Mr Harvey pushed me to be the best I could be. He took a keen interest in me, and others with talent, and inspired us with the will to win. He helped us to understand that if you had talent, that wasn’t enough, you have to work at developing it. He showed me that if you’re prepared to work hard, you will succeed. This work ethic has stayed with me my whole life.
“He gave up his own time outside school to train and encourage us, developing our skills on the track and on the pitch. I will never forget that and I still have the hunger and desire to win that he instilled within me from those early days. Without Mr Harvey, there may not have been a Stewart Milne Group.”