I was drawn to my physics teacher, Mr Curd: he was a kindred spirit. I nicknamed him Captain Planet because his love of astronomy and stars was truly infectious. He was a small man, with a… let’s say “science convention” sort of humour.  He wasn’t really understood by everybody, he was dismissed by some and loved by others, and I was one of the ones who loved him.

I always loved science fiction and have always been fascinated by the stars, long before Brian Cox made it cool. Mr Curd was the same, he never shied away from talking about the planets and the stars - he had such a love of physics. Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m no scientist, I didn’t take it to further education, but I used to look forward to those hours in his class so much.

He lived for teaching about physics, I think everyone who is very passionate about their subject is memorable. When I think back I don’t remember the best teachers or the subject teachers for who I was determined to well for like English, maths and what have you. But looking back, physics was the lesson which always made me smile the most.

We used to talk about Star Trek a lot. I dreamed about space travel, and I used to watch Star Trek: The Next Generation at 5 o’clock after school. We’d talk about the gravity of planets, nebulas, Stephen Hawking, and string theory. It was amazing that that’s what he was interested in as well. You can imagine at school 20 years ago in south Northampton countryside state school there weren’t a lot of people into science fiction, it was more farming and rugby.

Mr Curd taught me for one or two years, and it was at the age when suddenly you’re in a laboratory and there are Bunsen burners and suddenly it’s a really exciting time to go into a lesson and burn things. I’m not sure we were supposed to have them in physics, but I think he used them to prove how gravity worked, or do a few explosions. He put health and safety second when it came to enjoyment and I like that sort of teacher.        

I remember one day when the headmaster Mr Hughes was walking around outside… I don’t know if anyone knows this, but you know the taps in the laboratory? If you put the Bunsen burner tube over the tap and close the air hole they become like power hoses. I remember (and I’ll admit this now) when Mr Hughes came out of a school door, he was squirted from the upstairs laboratory window. That may have been me…

I wasn’t naughty at school, but I was quite cheeky. I was clever and had a good memory, but I didn’t work that hard if I’m honest. Most of my report cards said that I was fun to have in the classroom, but that I needed to stop distracting others as much as I did. My mum and dad were both teachers, my dad was actually my maths teacher for a couple of years - they were the two most harrowing years of my life. I couldn’t get away with anything. He was the teacher in school that everyone was afraid of because he had a big, booming Geordie accent and in middle earth Northampton in a little school, there are not very many northern accents. People used to jump in their socks. He wouldn’t let me turn around and flirt with the four girls behind me.

I don’t know what Mr Curd is doing now, I don’t know if he’s still around, but I hope he is. I doubt that he’d ever remember teaching me, I wasn’t a particularly outstanding student. If he is still around, and does watch Strictly on a Saturday night, he might have thought: he looks familiar and I don’t know why… He would have recognised the stupid, gurning grin on my face and my laughter. I laughed my way through school.

Graeme Swann was appearing at the launch of the ICC Cricket World Cup’s Schools programme at Lords. The England & Wales Cricket Board (ECB) and Chance to Shine, the leading cricket charity which works with young people in schools and communities, will devise and implement six education campaigns to inspire children, teachers and schools in the UK about cricket during the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019.

Graeme Swann

Born: 1979, Northampton

Education: Sponne School, Towcester

Career: Graeme is a former Cricketer who played for England, Marylebone, and Nottinghamshire. He’s currently a contestant on BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing