I grew up on the outskirts of Bradford and the first school I attended was Cooper Lane Primary School before, aged nine, joining Lady Royd, the prep school for Bradford Girls’ Grammar School. Two years later, I moved up to the grammar school and stayed until finishing my A levels.

The grammar school was very academic but it never lost its sense of caring for pupils so, overall, I am pleased to say I enjoyed my school days. My favourite teacher was Mrs Greenwood, who taught domestic science at Bradford Girls’.

She was a wonderful woman, so strong and certainly my school hero. In fact, my best memories are of her creative classes involving cooking and sewing.

Given the strict regime at the school, my school days were never full of laughter but I enjoyed the experiences and advice we were given nonetheless. I took to cooking quite quickly, thanks to Mrs Greenwood’s teaching, and remember compiling detailed notebooks. The pages were filled with beautifully written notes containing the ingredients and methods for everything I cooked in her lessons. I kept those notebooks for years but, sadly, lost them in a recent house move.

‘Golden moments’ in domestic science lessons

Domestic science lessons were golden moments in my school week, even though Mrs Greenwood - who had short grey hair, a matronly figure and was in her late 50s - was quite an authoritarian figure. She was such a strong character that you certainly didn’t mess around. Always proud of her subject, she had a vigorous nurturing instinct which meant she wanted everyone to succeed.

I was taught lots of practical things about sewing and cooking which have stood me in good stead, such as eating healthily and cooking from scratch. I’m a great food lover and very healthy which, in part, has stemmed from Mrs Greenwood. In many ways, she was like my mum and grandma, especially in looks, attitude and in possessing strong views about everything.

Some of my favourite memories involved using her recipes to make bread, puff pastry, pies and similar traditional fare. Often our lessons were like The Great British Bake Off, which probably explains why I enjoy watching the series on TV now, because it reminds me of my cooking lessons at grammar school.

On the sewing side, it was, once again, practical items we’d create like aprons and cushions. I learned to sew as a child and have always done it; in my house, there is always a pile of textiles which are being used to make my latest creation. Bearing in mind the career I followed after studying fine arts at Surrey Institute of Art and Design, it’s not surprising I found her lessons interesting, even though we were making practical items rather than anything particularly fancy.

Nowadays, it would seem strange to make such items because clothes are relatively cheap, but back then they weren’t and I’d make lots of my own clothes, including jackets and skirts.

You can never diminish the importance of practical courses like those run by Mrs Greenwood. Even now, I’ll spend time with my own daughter and nieces and nephews making and sewing things or cooking together. Often these subjects are lost in the school curriculum, so I find myself adopting the teacher’s role; it’s such a pleasure sharing these practical skills, often with great results and a sense of time well spent.

After completing A-levels and leaving grammar school, I didn’t keep in touch with Mrs Greenwood, who was always well turned out in a twin set and sensible shoes. However, a few years ago, I received a letter out of the blue. I think she’d heard that my mother had passed away so wrote a beautiful note saying how she’d been following my career and was extremely proud of what I’d achieved. I treasure that letter from my favourite teacher.

CV: Linda Barker

Born: 26 October 1961, Shelf, Yorkshire

Education: Cooper Lane Primary School, Bradford; Lady Royd Prep School, Bradford; Bradford Girls’ Grammar School, Bradford

Career: As an interior designer and TV presenter, Linda is best known for appearing on long-running series such as Changing Rooms, House Invaders and 60-Minute Makeover