A pupil who broke into his school to sleep at night has been reunited with his former teachers nearly 30 years on. During what was a difficult childhood there was one place that John Barnett from Tregarth near Bangor considered a "safe heaven" - his secondary school, Ysgol Tryfan.
John left the Bangor school at the age of 16, but never forgot about his teachers' kindness and support. In a recent episode of Gwesty Aduniad on S4C (translated as 'Reunion Hotel'), which was aired on Tuesday, September 20), the 48-year-old gets the chance to thank his former mathematics teacher, Eifion Jones, and registry teacher, Rhys Llwyd, for helping him.
During the programme, John said: "There are teachers and there are teachers that go that extra mile. I didn't get the chance to say thank you to people and maybe they didn't realise what they did to help me. You don't forget the people who helped you. It was these teachers who gave me a chance in life."
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John explained how over 30 years ago, he had to grow up quickly during the most difficult period of his life. The dad-of-three said: "I didn't like being at home, things weren't good there - I didn't feel safe. My stepdad and mam weren't good to me.
"I think my mam had problems of her own, but my stepdad added to the problems. I would have to go to foster homes, my whole childhood was confusing really. People in the fostering system were absolutely brilliant with me, I had no issues there, but I wanted to be with my Taid [grandfather].
"I didn't know my dad, so my Taid was like a father to me. I looked up to him as if he was my hero. But the social services didn't let me stay with him; I had to go back to foster care."
John's grandfather died in 1988, which left John feeling that the only place he could feel safe was his secondary school. Things took a turn for the worse however when John began taking food from the school canteen to survive and took shelter at the school's building during his early teens.
"It was a very special place for me at the time," he explained. "It was the only place I felt safe and that the problems at home, for a time, I didn't have to worry about.
"If anything happened, the teachers would be there and they would look after me. Eifion Jones is a man I have been thinking about over the years, and how much he helped me during school. We all called him 'Jones Bach' in school, he was genuine and he was someone you wanted to work for.
He added: "I was sleeping at school. There was a piece of the gate in Tryfan that I could fit through, and I knew that a policeman couldn't get through that hole. I used to take food from the canteen as well, I'm not proud of that, I could've been suspended for it. I don't think [Eifion Jones] knows the whole story, so I want to thank him."
John was nervous but excited to meet up with his former teachers once again. During their reunion, the teachers explained that they had no idea that John had been sleeping at the school. His former mathematics teacher, Mr Jones, said: "I remember him as a kind, quiet little boy. He was close to you, extremely close to you. It made us happy to help children. I've always said there is more to being a teacher than just teaching."
John told his teachers: "You have been more than my teachers, you were people that I trusted when I couldn't trust people outside of the school, and I will never forget that."
You can catch up with S4C on iPlayer here.
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