Many teachers will have experienced the emotions of teaching the child of a former pupil. Some will have experienced working with a former pupil. Not many will have had a former pupil as their headteacher.

Tran Ngoc Anh from Vietnam has this claim to fame. Not only has he won Vietnam’s Medal for the Cause of Education, but he is also still teaching at the age of 84. Mr Ngoc Anh began teaching in 1955 and was a headteacher himself from 1969 to 1973.

After retiring, he decided to learn English and following three years of study became so proficient that he decided to return to teaching, this time as an English teacher under the management of a former pupil.

“He always learns new things from his colleagues and other sources to enrich his knowledge and uses it for his teaching. I’m lucky to have been taught by him,” said his headteacher.