"BRICKS and mortar do not a great school make."

That wise old adage surfaced when I passed the 11-plus and went to Cardinal Godfrey High School in Liverpool, which would not have won any prizes for architectural grandeur.

I learned my first great lesson, there and then, that it's not what an educational establishment looks like from the outside that matters - but what goes on inside.

I often think of that when the Wirral Globe School Awards come around.

These accolades are a 'thank you' to those who play such an important part in all our lives.

That's not just the teaching staff - it also includes pupils.

I am always moved by the nominations – written with genuine tender loving care by those who want to acknowledge excellence.

I wish such awards had been around when I was at school.

I would have voted for my inspirational teacher - a nun called Sister Baptista who instilled in me a life-long love of words, music and art.

Regrettably, I never got to tell her how much she influenced me.

Now, 50 years on, I am still guided by her teaching legacy.

In an age when there are gongs for everything imaginable, the Globe School Awards really are something of value.

Most teachers will agree there's nothing more rewarding than when they see the "light bulb" go on in a pupil's head.

Students are changed forever when doors are opened for them, too.

So you still have until June 14 to nominate and give full marks for our local heroes - in front of and behind the blackboard.

Let's celebrate Sir, Miss and those pupils in our Wirral schools who tick all the right boxes.

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TALKING of inspirational teachers ... I'd like to give an all- American "high-five" to Barry White Jnr who makes his pupils feel like individuals.

Instead of the usual routine register call each day they high-five him with a little dance or creative gesture.

He is based in North Carolina, also home of Harry and Meghan's soulful, sermonising bishop.

There must be something spiritual in that Deep South water.

Some modern teaching methods, however, leave me lost for words.

Former education minister Justine Greening said: "Parents should turn on TV sub-titles to help their children to learn to read."

Maybe that’s why she is pre-fixed "former."

And, forsooth, some teachers are now using emojis - the mobile phone icon images - to teach pupils how to understand Shakespeare.

I have lost the Will on this gimmick.

If I could end this comment piece with an emoji it would be crying.

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FROM Emojis to Emus ... the late Rod Hull's bird puppet is being sold at an auction on May 31.

Whoever bids for Emu - at a starting price of £750 (chicken feed) - must be brave.

The auctioneers say it looks scarily alive even when lying dormant.

You've got to hand it to Mr Hull, Emu didn't care who he humiliated.

Many celebrities had been to Hull and back on live TV – ruffled feathers where everywhere.

Michael Parkinson, one of Emu's victims in 1976, should buy this replica as a prop for his An audience with ... talk on October 4 at Chester Storyhouse.

Parky could get his sweet revenge by throttling it on stage every night of the tour.

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STRESS comes in all shapes and forms.

The excellent Mental Health Awareness week pointed that out.

In this social media-drenched world we are encouraged to try and de-stress.

According to researchers the top "de-stresses" are: taking donkey rides; Morris dancing and playing conkers - so living in Wirral we have no excuse for partaking.

Meanwhile, fire-tongued chef Gordon Ramsay uses swearing to let off steam.

University of East Anglia boffins believe expletives can help us all cope with stress.

Over at Keele University, they discovered volunteers who swore could withstand having their hands immersed in ice-filled water for 40 seconds longer than those who didn't swear.

I swear that must be one of the most bleeping ridiculous tests I have ever heard of.

As Mr Ramsay would say: "Utter ****."

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"DON'T worry - be happy" is one motto comedian Jon Richardson ignores.

His new Monday night series on the "Dave" Channel, called Ultimate Worrier, presents the nation's top daily angst-ridden frets.

They include waiting for a parcel to arrive, wondering if we left the window unlocked and if the mobile phone battery will conk out.

For me, it's about habitually losing keys.

I once interviewed a memory expert who told me to use "mind association." 

Each night I was to leave the keys on the fridge and picture them in an ice cube.

Unfortunately, I thought he said leave "IN" the fridge.

I couldn't find them until a few days later, when I discovered them frozen - they had slipped down into a bowl of trifle.

I continue to worry where my current batch will turn up.

Worst of all, my memory banks are overdrawn.

I recently put a book on mastering Feng Shui down and I still can't find it.

AND finally ...

I admit it ... I enjoyed the Royal Wedding.

After sipping royal-tea in the patriotically be-decked Seaside Cafe in New Brighton I, like 13m other UK telly gate-crashers, was hooked.

I have a feeling that this magical marriage won't flag.

Watching H and M walk into the chapel registry I was reminded of the legendary star Mickey Rooney who once told me that, after being married eight times, his marriage licence read "to whom it may concern."

Peter Grant