My teachers at Millfield Prep School and the senior school, were all very accommodating and understanding, but a couple stand out: two English teachers and an economics teacher, who taught me rugby. They made a massive difference to my life.

Mr Milton was my English teacher in senior school. I was probably 13 when he started teaching me and he taught me for a year. English was a subject I struggled with because I was quite dyslexic and he was the guy who helped me to understand it.

Other people in my class suffered from dyslexia and so I didn’t feel the odd one out. The reason why I went to Millfield is because it provides specialist support for people with dyslexia.

Mr Milne taught me after Mr Milton for two years, while I was preparing for my GCSEs. He was similar to Mr Milton in that he had ways of teaching me that helped me to understand the subject. I passed my GCSE in English with a B or C. I probably would not have got that without his support.

Mr Milne and Mr Milton mainly gave me their time, whether it was helping me after class, during breaktimes or after school. It was really worth it, because I am seeing the benefits now. Their support helped in general with my confidence, particularly with speaking out loud in front of an audience.

Millfield was a very sporty school and I was interested in football, hockey and cricket. I did all three sports, in addition to rugby. It was a term by term thing, so one term I played cricket and another hockey, etc, but it was always rugby, a couple of times a week. I always loved playing the game. I started playing rugby at Cumnor School, in Croydon and then with my brothers in our back garden.

There were loads of rugby teachers I worked with during my whole time at school. Mr Brimacombe taught me rugby, after school. He taught me for about three years from the ages of 13 to 14 and then the ages of 17 to 18. I really enjoyed my rugby playing under Mr Brimacombe. He gave us great belief in ourselves and made us work hard. It always helps if you are successful, too, and we were when he coached us.

He taught us what was most important: the basic skills. He didn’t try to overcomplicate the game. At the top level, it is all about doing the basics well, under intense pressure.

Mr Brimacombe was grounded, a normal guy. Something that sticks in my mind is that he would always use anecdotes to get his point across, [which] always helped us understand what he was trying to teach, a little bit better.

Mr Brimacombe was probably in his 40s when he was my rugby teacher; but I could be wrong. He was of medium build and quite tall, about 6ft, with blond hair. He wore a suit to work every day, as that is what the school required the teachers to wear, but when he took us for rugby, he wore a tracksuit.

PE was my favourite subject at school and I did an A level in the subject, along with business and psychology. Psychology was also a favourite subject of mine because I enjoyed learning about the mind and how people function. I got an A in PE and two Bs in business and psychology. After school I tried studying business management at Roehampton University for a couple of months, but it collided with my rugby and so I decided to drop out.

Mr Brimacombe follows my career and I see him from time to time. He has said well done to me for my success, but there have been a number of rugby players who have come from the school, including [Bath and England player] Jonathan Joseph. The last time I saw Mr Brimacombe was at a Sevens Tournament in London, a couple of years ago.

I have been back to Millfield School at various stages, but not too often. The last time I went back was a couple of years ago, for the opening of a newly built pavilion and the newly refurbished prep school. Mr Brimacombe wasn’t there when I went back, I’m not sure if he has left the school.

Mr Brimacombe is partly responsible for where I am now, but all the coaches I have worked with have been important. He was influential in my schoolboy rugby; he was very important.

Chris Robshaw was speaking to Adeline Iziren. He plays rugby for Harlequins and England, who he captained in the 2015 World Cup. Along with the wider Harlequins squad, he supports The Harlequins Foundation, which delivers practical support for young people through its educational programmes. For more info, click here.