Can someone help me identify this short story?

[Saralyn]

Hi, I was wondering if anyone can recognise this short story from my description. We read it in school 15 years ago, but I have no idea who the author is.

The plot was something like this:

A boy starts school. He's a bit of a dreamer, and his teacher mostly leaves him to it. Then he starts a new school, which is very academic, where there is a lot of emphasis on learning grammar and the structure of language. Then he again changes school ( maybe begins college), and this is more of a liberal arts kind of school, were the teacher encourages his creative writing.

The boy grows up and becomes an accomplished writer, and he is interviewed on tv. He is asked if he has anyone to thank for his success and he says " my teacher".

The teacher from the academic school is watching the tv show, and congratulates himself on having taught the boy the structure of the language, and the liberal arts teacher congratulates himself on having nurtured the boy's creativity.

But then the writer says that the teacher he wants to thank, is the primgary school teacher who left him to himself and gave him time to dream and fantasise.

Does this sound familiar to anyone? I would love to read it again

[Countdown1]

The story could describe Roald Dhal's life.

[Saralyn]

it sounds a bit like Dahl, doesn't it, Countdown, but I have read his autobiographies, and would have remembered it if this was him.

Fuckwittery, glad to hear you have read it, then it isn't all in my head;) I just cannot for the life of me remember who has written it.