A countdown of the top 10 greatest films about schools has given The TES an excuse to chat to Gregory’s girl from Gregory’s Girl.

Clare Grogan, the actress and former pop singer, was delighted that the 1981 Scottish romantic comedy had ranked at number eight in the Teachers TV chart, voted on by teachers.

“For me, the appeal of it has a lot to do with Gregory and the fact the geeky anti-hero wins in the end,” she said. “People also feel quite nostalgic about their schooldays.”

Clare was picked for the role of Gregory’s eventual love interest while waitressing in a Glasgow cafe. Her performance in the film at the age of 19 helped to launch her pop career in the band Altered Images.

Last year, she went back to Abronhill High in Cumbernauld, where the film was shot, for a BBC documentary. “It had a weirdly emotional effect on me, even though it wasn’t the school I went to myself,” she said.

Visiting her own school, Notre Dame High in Glasgow, earlier this year was even stranger. Clare returned there to launch her first children’s book, Tallulah and the Teen Stars, a semi-autobiographical story about a girl who joins a band.

Her form teacher, Philomena McFadden, had become headmistress. Clare said: “I still remember school vividly. I wasn’t an A-grade student, but Mrs McFadden was lovely to me, so it was reassuring to see her there.”