'I'm getting married to my former PE teacher – my schoolmates still call her Miss'

A man has fallen in love and got engaged to his former PE teacher - 13 years after she taught him in college - and says his mates still call her 'Miss'.

Scott Davies, 33, and Helen Booth, 41, first became acquainted back in 2009 - when he was a student at Barclay School sixth form in Stevenage, Hertfordshire, and taught him PE.

They crossed paths again 13 years later in 2022 after Scott moved from Birmingham back to Stevenage - initially having no inkling there was any romantic potential.

But they ended up falling in love, moving in together and Scott popped the question in August 2024 on a beach in Ibiza with a 200 strong crowd of people watching on.

Now - 17 years on from their first meeting - they have a house together and are due to tie the knot next year.

Scott, a primary school teacher, from Stevenage, said: "It's a bit of a whirlwind story.

"I never would have thought I'd marry my ex teacher but we are very happy together."

Helen, who now works as special educational needs coordinator at a middle school, added: "I feel very lucky with what we have in our relationship - it’s very special and we make each other very happy."

The pair - who have an eight-year age gap - had no relationship back then but were reunited after Scott moved back to Stevenage from Birmingham, in 2022.

Scott had coached cricket back at his old school - where Helen still worked at the time - and the pair developed a friendship, just after he left college when he was 21.

Scott went on to become a primary school teacher, while Helen began working at a special needs school.

Scott got in touch with Helen again when he was 25 as he hoped she might be able to help answer some questions he had about teaching.

After a relationship of Scott's ended, he moved back to Stevenage from Birmingham and got back in touch with Helen to discuss teaching.

But even then, there was no romantic connection between them and things were "strictly professional".

Scott said: "At that point it was all professional - we were just touching base.

"I dropped her a message to see how she was, and we decided to meet up for a catch up at a bar.

"We had a drink but then we were like 'is this a date?'"

The pair ended up having a few more drinks and realised they had romantic potential.

Scott said: "After that, we ended up spending the next four days together.

"Neither of us had been actively looking for a partner at the time but things just sort of fell into place."

Helen said: "It was lovely how well we got on straight away and how natural it was, we both believed it was a ‘catch up’ at first but now know it was our first date."

Scott maintains Helen was the one teacher all the boys "had a crush on" when they were at school.

Scott said: "My mates were excited when they found out - they'd known how lovely Helen was as a person."

Helen said: "Scott had stayed in touch with some of my colleagues that had taught him from his coaching and they were really happy for us both."

Within two years of dating, the couple were engaged.

Their relationship, however, has had its fair share of interesting moments - especially when friends and acquaintances realised how they originally met.

Scott said: "It's been interesting when friends of mine have met her as they also used to be taught by her.

"Initially some of them would still say 'hi Miss' – it was quite funny - one of them still does!"

It’s not just his friends who have had to adjust either - since some of Helen’s friends are also Scott's former teachers.

While Scott was initially reluctant to tell his parents that Helen used to teach him.

"At first, I was apprehensive to tell mum and dad," he said.

"So, I let my parents meet her first without mentioning anything, then after, I dropped it in – 'oh, by the way, she used to teach me!'

"Thankfully they all got on well and my parents were cool with it.

"Obviously it's quite a funny story - we never had any idea all those years ago we'd end up together."

The couple’s relationship has only grown stronger, and they now even live together in Shefford, Bedfordshire, and got engaged in April 2024.

But even now when they tell their story, they laugh about how people react.

Scott said: "She'll say 'he used to come back and teach my PE' - but she leaves out the first bit of when we first ‘knew’ each other."

Helen said: "I am looking forward to getting married next year, having a baby together and continue being so happy together."