Although Miss Sharp retired in 2016, she very much remained part of the Putney family, attending reunions, plays and concerts and was recently rehearsing with the Putney High Choral Society for the forthcoming performance in April. She will be greatly missed by many former pupils, as well as former colleagues.

Please do feel free to get in touch with us at [email protected], particularly if you would like to share a memory or photograph of Miss Sharp with us and her family. We have posted a few of the communications we’ve received below:

Miss Sharp knew everyone’s names, almost from the very first day of Year 7. Coming from a small primary school, this was anchoring. Whether she taught you or not, you always felt seen, heard and understood in her presence.

The upper floors of Galbraith were always a good place to be. Lessons were a balance of light and laughter, alongside thoughtful literary analysis. I remember her having a cupboard filled with paperbacks, lent to us for extra reading, like literary prescriptions for the soul.

I was taught English by Julie, for all of the time I was at PHS. I remember her as kind, creative and always ambitious for us her students, to develop an appreciative and rounded knowledge of her subject. I particularly recall how she supported us to enjoy poetry, to decipher Shakespeare and most of all to feel at ease with expressing our views, particularly through public speaking.

How terribly sad. I cannot credit Miss Sharp enough for inspiring me to love language, to pursue it as a career and to study English Literature at university. I will miss her dearly.

I have so many memories of Miss Sharp, from book club (always with biscuits), to her stories from South America.

Below is the leaving speech I wrote for her:

In the past few months two massive pieces of news have hit Putney High School. Firstly, Britain is leaving the EU and secondly, Miss Sharp is leaving the EU…. Sorry, I mean, is leaving us.

Miss Sharp has been such an inspiration to us all. Her lessons are always fascinating and enjoyable- even when I’m drowning in revision and coursework they never fail to cheer me up with impressive attempts of Southern Alabaman accents and literary themed foods. And whilst sometimes I feel as if we are moving through the course at ridiculous speeds, her lessons are still sprinkled with stories of her Southern American adventures and her gap year experiences, which I look forward to every week.

However, Miss Sharp is so much more than just a teacher here. She has been a vital part of Putney life, orchestrating not only book clubs and Christian Union but also entertaining us on a yearly basis with her Christmas Nativity and other plays such as the ‘Inspector English’ sequel and ‘Face to Face’.

Those lucky enough to be in her form in Year 7 will know about how welcoming she is towards the new students of Putney High School, making the gap between Junior and Senior school seem as small as physically possible. The  current Year 12s may be familiar with the very famous song “All about that Woodspurge”.

You never fail to surprise us Miss Sharp so thank you for always being your amazing, quirky self. Thank you for forever inspiring us to try new things, be it a new accent during the reading of “To Kill a Mockingbird” or going to the Globe for the first time. You put so much into your lessons and we are so proud to have been your students.

Thank you for your constant generosity and for all of the gifts that you have given us. It goes without saying that you will be sorely missed by the ‘remain camp’ here at Putney. We wish you well in your retirement and hope that you will come and visit us often.

When Miss Sharp first came to Putney High School her students said to her “Well you’re nice, but you’ll never be the same as our old teacher”. Maybe, in years to come, we will be saying that about the new English teachers, but whatever happens, there will only ever be one Miss Sharp.

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Miss Sharp (or – as she signed off as – Miss #) taught me briefly in the Sixth Form and I remember her as a fun, inspiring teacher with a love of literature.  Whether she was writing plays for the years 7 and 8 to perform – always with a ‘Beatrice and Benedick’ element, singing with us in the school choir, or organising trips to the Globe (“no need to buy seats, we can stand just as the peasants used to!”) she was a special presence at Putney High.

But to me, she was much more than a teacher.  Through my years at Putney, Miss # guided me in my faith and gave me a safe space to explore and grow.  Every Thursday lunchtime we would meet for Christian Union where she would lead us with thought-provoking questions, humour, patience and, above all, joy.  The Christian Union Christmas play was a highlight of the year (“will there be a real baby?!”) and, somehow, she made us comfortable enough to make utter fools of ourselves in front of the school – remember the rapping camel, the accident-prone Angel, and the tempestuous Mary?  She was always willing to get stuck in.  Once, when leading a session, we asked her to denounce Shakespeare for a box of chocolates. I think we were trying to prove a point about Judas…. I still remember her squirming.

I was fortunate enough to stay in touch with Miss # and in recent years we sang together at various events and talked endlessly about books over coffee.  I will miss her vibrancy and excitement about the projects she was involved in, her enthusiasm for life, her openness and vulnerability, and her humour.   The last text she sent me included a list of her current ‘Random Ten Books’  (we agreed we could never have a ‘top ten’).  I’m making my way through them in her memory but my goodness, I wish we could chat about them over a cappuccino.

Millie Freeman (Class of 2006)