Former student of murdered teacher Ann Maguire on why she is still his inspiration nine years on

In April 2014, 61-year-old Spanish teacher Ann Maguire was stabbed to death by her 15-year-old pupil Will Cornick in front of horrified classmates at Halton Moor’s Corpus Christi Catholic College in Leeds.

The death of Ann, who had taught at the school for 41 years, shocked the country.

TK Mavima was downstairs when the incident happened in the classroom above him.

“Her huge smile still inspires me to do well today, everytime I had a bad day she would cheer me up,” said a former pupil of his beloved teacher.

“We didn’t know who had done it at first and whether we were all in danger, everyone was scared.”

TK, who is now 24 and living in Wakefield, said he tries not to think about the actions of Cornick but he holds onto the memory of his beloved teacher who died nine years ago.

He said: “She was like an angel, always smiling. She would always encourage me to achieve my dreams and no matter what happens in my life today I know to keep going.”

Cornick was jailed for life in 2014, serving a minimum of 20 years.