Pride of Guernsey: Gemma White

Gemma is currently working as a learning support assistant at Amherst Primary School, a job she has been doing for over 10 years.

‘Gemma White is the most caring and loving teacher I’ve ever met,’ said her nominator, whose son was taught by her.

‘She was the only teacher who gave him a chance, she was the only one who supported him when he was at his lowest and made him excited to go to school when he was petrified of going.

‘He was so devastated when she couldn’t be his one-on-one teacher anymore but two or three years later, she still talks to him, she still supports him, and she still makes him smile and makes his day that bit brighter every single day. She really is the definition of a teacher who gives a child a reason.

‘She has even supported me when I was struggling with mental health and she made me become a better parent just by believing in me. She deserves more than this. But I’ll be forever grateful to her. She is the one I’ll never forget, and neither will my son.’

Gemma said that the best thing about her job had to be ‘seeing the progress of the children you work with.’