The inspirational teacher who 'died doing the job she loved'

Ann Maguire was described as "inspiring, generous and compassionate". Credit: West Yorkshire Police/PA

It was a tragic attack that sent shockwaves through Britain.

Spanish teacher Ann Maguire was stabbed to death in front of horrified pupils at the Corpus Christi Catholic College in Leeds where she had taught for 40 years.

Aged 61, the much-loved teacher was due to retire in September.

But that chance was cruelly taken from her on Monday April 28 when she was killed by a 15-year-old boy, the first time such an attack had happened in a British school.

Described as "inspiring, generous and compassionate", Ann started working there as a student teacher and had been head of year 11 for more than a decade.

A mother-of-two, she lived in the Moortown area of Leeds with her husband, Don, a former maths teacher and landscape gardener.

The couple also helped raise her two nephews following her sister's death from cancer.

At a memorial service in September, more than 1,200 people turned out to pay their respects.

Her husband Don called her "beautiful, dedicated and hard working" and credited her maternal instinct for making her a "wonderful teacher" who touched the lives of many pupils.

Indeed the pupils themselves, some of whom she had taught three generations of their families, said what a difference she had made to their futures.

She was the teacher who had time for everybody and was "always singing" and "brought laughter to every lesson", they said.

Ann's killer, now 16, had previously "accepted responsibility" for her "unlawful killing" but today admitted her murder at Leeds Crown Court. Although he cannot be identified due to his age.

The Maguire family led by Ann's husband Don and daughter Emma arriving at Leeds Crown Court. Credit: PA

Despite her killer's guilty plea bringing some closure, her family are still coming to terms with what happened.

Speaking at the time of her memorial service, Ann's sisters Denise Courtney and Shelagh Connor said they would never get over it.

Denise said: "She died doing the job she loved but we can't really make any sense of what happened and how public it was."

"It's just going to be ongoing trying to deal with it as a family", Shelagh added.