Meet TheSchoolRun teachers and contributors

All TheSchoolRun's resources are prepared and written by qualified primary-school teachers. Our information articles are written by journalists.

Meet some of our fantastic contributors below!

Elena Dalrymple – Editorial Director (2011-2021) and mum to Kate, Tom and Emily

Who was your favourite teacher (and why)?
Miss Dean – incredibly inspirational and passionate about words and books. I can still remember confessing to her that I really wanted to write a book (something I definitely don't want to do now!) and her encouragement.
Sports Day – loved it or loathed it?
Absolutely loathed it – my worst day of the school year. (School swimming lessons came a very close second. The PE teacher had to jump in and rescue me once.)
What's your most embarrassing memory of primary school?
Apparently my Reception teacher left the classroom for a moment and came back to find me, aged 4, keeping the other children in check by 'reading' to them, having shepherded them onto the carpet and instructed them to be quiet. My mum loves telling this story as proof that I've always been bossy!
Are you still in touch with primary school friends?
I met Isabel aged 3 and we still see each other regularly; we've got five kids between us now.

Lucy Dimbylow – Features writer and editor and mum to Tom and Katie

What was your favourite subject at primary school?
I loved topic work rather than any particular subject, and have fond memories of making rain gauges, ice lollies and balsa wood vehicles with real working lights.
What's your best memory of primary school?
Endless summer playtimes doing roly-polies down the hill on the playing field, sitting under the hawthorn bushes collecting caterpillars and learning to balance on the back of the life-size concrete dragon that lived in our school playground.
Sports Day – loved it or loathed it?
I hated PE but loved Sports Day. We used to do an amazing obstacle course which involved carrying a plastic cup of orange squash across a variety of apparatus – and we got to drink anything that was left at the end.
What's your most embarrassing memory of primary school?
Accidentally knocking over an enormous framed print in the headmaster’s office during recorder club. It came crashing down, smashing the glass and the beautiful wooden model carousel that it landed on. I was made to clear up the wreckage as a punishment, but never did pluck up the courage to tell my teacher why I was so late back to class.
What did you want to be when you grew up?
I changed my mind on a weekly basis, but it was all very girlie – teacher, vet, nurse, ballerina…

Alice Hart worked in schools in London for 7 years, teaching mainly Year 5 and Year 3 as well as lots of supply teaching covering ages 3-11. Alice is mum to Jack.
What was your favourite subject at primary school? 
English
What's your best memory of primary school?
Playing with friends in the sun on our school playing field.
What's your most embarrassing memory of primary school? 
Wetting myself in the library!
What is your favourite subject / topic to teach now (and why)? 
Maths because there is usually only one answer!
What is the best gift you've ever received from a pupil? 
A big chocolate square iced with a personalised message.
What's your favourite year group to teach, and why? 
Year 3 because they are still young enough to have easy access to their imaginations, but old enough to be a bit independent.
Best and worst things about teaching?  
Best: creating relationships with children, seeing them do funny things and seeing them get better and more confident at things. Worst: observations, performance management, Ofsted and all the paperwork and constant changes.
What did you want to be when you grew up? 
An actress.

Angela Smith trained to teach in Lancashire and taught there for 10 years; she now lives and teaches in Ripon, North Yorkshire. She has taught every year group, including nursery! Her own children are Jake and Ben.