Mrs Young (Donna) was taken from us too soon and will be deeply missed at King’s.

Donna Young was a vivacious, dynamic teacher who worked hard for her students. She was one of the best you could ever hope to see in action. She brought words and learning itself to life, and the boys wanted to work with her. She took a truly personal interest in them. 

Last week boys added their thoughts about Donna to a touching Book of Condolence presented to her family, and they performed the School Haka as her casket was carried out of the funeral service on Saturday. 

Our flags were at half–mast for the week, including one from Donna’s beloved homeland of Scotland. 

Donna was also farewelled by staff at a gathering on Monday when they shared memories of Donna and tributes to her. A new award in Creative Writing in remembrance of Donna will be started at King’s; she was a superb published writer.

Below are some of the class messages about Donna, as presented in the student book. They speak to what sort of person she was.

13 Ena

Mrs Young was a great teacher who really inspired and encouraged us to do our best, both in and out of school. She was positive, enthusiastic and had a great sense of humour. She always encouraged us to work harder and strive for personal excellence. Mrs Young gave us confidence in our writing and helped us to understand that writing doesn’t need to be long or complicated to be meaningful. She offered all the help we needed to do well, at her own cost. She helped us to improve our work whenever we asked. She always believed in us and saw our potential and for that, we will never forget her.

12Eng

We respected Mrs Young’s work as a teacher and her kindness as a person. We will miss her. She was an amazing teacher and we are all grateful to have been in her class. She was inspiring, and she pushed us to do our best. She was loving and caring and we enjoyed being in her class. Whenever anyone needed help she would always be there and try to help in any way possible. She had a positive influence on all of us, and helped us understand that English isn’t so bad after all. She helped lift up our mood when we were frustrated. Mrs Young was an outstanding, kind and reliable teacher and person. She helped us in many different ways and we really appreciated her. She always helped us when we didn’t understand something and went out of her way to help us pass. Mrs Young believed in our ability when we thought we had none. She was one of the greatest English teachers we’ve had. She will always be in our hearts. 

10Ki

Mrs Young was an amazing teacher with a great heart. She was kind, caring and welcoming and taught us values. She made the school a better place. Mrs Young was prepared and listened to the class. She taught from the heart and had a positive attitude towards teaching. She was easy to understand and always helped us when we needed it. It was a privilege to have her as our teacher and we were proud of being in her class. She showed us love and respect. She was clever and had a lot of knowledge to share. She had great passion for English and creative writing. She was funny and made us happy. She wanted the best for everyone. We enjoyed being in her class and we were really lucky to be taught by her.

9Yg

Mrs Young was an awesome, fun and creative teacher who helped us to develop and also helped us with real life. We appreciated the way she cared for us. She was a knowledgeable teacher and it was fun to be in her class.