A HEADTEACHER has described the sudden death of one of her staff as like "losing a sister".

Lisa Smithson-Gumbs, 37, was a learning mentor at Cuckoo Hall Primary School, in Enfield, for six years, giving lessons to children with learning difficulties and running a daily after-school club.

She was at work until Friday, May 8, when she went into hospital to have an operation on an aneurysm in her brain. She died the same day.

Mrs Smithson-Gumbs was married to Tony, 44, for 21 years, who described his wife as “everything you could ever want".

He said: “There wasn’t anything bad about her at all – not like with myself. She was all the nice words you can think of – beautiful – everything.”

The couple lived in Forty Hill with their two sons Aston, 19, and Aaron, 17. Mrs Smithson-Gumbs was also stepmother to Emma, 22.

Patricia Sowter, headteacher at Cuckoo Hall Primary school, said she asked Mrs Smithson-Gumbs to join her six years ago from a previous school they had both worked at becuase she knew she would have a far-reaching impact.

She added: “Her loss is like losing a dear sister."

She credited a part of the school’s recent outstanding Ofsted inspection to Mrs Smithson-Gumbs’ work.

She said: “Her last day at work on May 8 happened to be the day of the school’s most recent Ofsted inspection and it is a great comfort to the school to know that Lisa was part of the very positive feedback that the school received.

“The feedback identified her part in supporting pupils who find learning challenging, or for those who need particular emotional support.”

She added: “Parents have paid their own tributes to Lisa over the past week and have said without exception that Lisa made a personal impact on each and everyone of them. One parent wrote, ‘Heaven is lucky to have our angel’.”

Mr Murphy, a window-fitter, said people would often approach his wife in the street to thank her for her work with their children.

“It was unbelievable. Wherever we went, even if we were in Tesco, everyone would say, 'Miss Smithson thank you for looking after my kid'."

He added: “She was everything you could ever want. Twenty-one years we were married and we were still making plans.

“When the boys were born she was just so chuffed. She was only 17 and she had the second one at 18."

Mrs Sowter said during a session where children wrote tributes to Mrs Smithson-Gumbs, one wrote: “I’ll miss you and will never forget you. You will always be my best star and my number one teacher”.