From Dumbledore to Yoda, what makes a good teacher

This academic year students will be motivated by inspirational teachers. But which teacher characters from fiction and popular culture inspire real life teachers?

According to a Times Education Supplement survey of 1,200 educators, two characters from the Harry Potter series grabbed prominent places in education's 50 favourite fictional teachers.

Albus Dumbledore, headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and Harry's mentor through most of the series, topped the poll. "Albus Dumbledore was never proud or vain; he could find something to value in anyone, however apparently insignificant or wretched. That he was the most inspiring and the best loved of all Hogwarts headmasters cannot be in question," Elphias Doge said of Dumbledore in his obituary.

In second place was beloved Miss Jennifer Honey from the Roald Dahl classic Matilda. "She was a mild and quiet person who never raised her voice and was seldom seen to smile, but there is no doubt she possessed that rare gift for being adored by every small child under her care," wrote Dahl.

And the students' adoration of her transforms them into willing learners. On the first day of school, only a few of students could spell "cat". With Miss Honey's exceptional teaching prowess, by Thursday of the first week, even one of the classes' weaker students, Prudence, could spell "difficulty" without any difficulty.

And in complete contrast, tough-but-fair Professor Minerva McGonagall, head of Gryffindor House and deputy headmistress also at Hogwarts, placed third on the list.