Hawking praises his inspirational teacher

Stephen Hawking has told how a teacher opened his eyes to the “blueprint of the universe itself – mathematics”.

The physicist said Dikran Tahta had helped him build his first computer while he was a student at St Albans School in Hertfordshire.

Describing himself as a lazy pupil with bad handwriting, Professor Hawking said the maths teacher had made classes lively and exciting, adding that it was thanks to Mr Tahta that he had become a professor of mathematics at Cambridge University.

In a video for the Varkey Foundation Global Teacher Prize, which is due to be awarded at a ceremony in Dubai this weekend, Prof Hawking said: “It all starts, with the seed of love. The love of music, the love of history... for me it was the love of science.

“At St Albans School, there was an inspirational maths teacher, Mr Tahta. He opened my eyes to the blueprint of the universe itself – mathematics.

“When each of us thinks about what we can do in life, chances are, we can do it because of a teacher. Behind every exceptional person, there is an exceptional teacher.”