TRIBUTES have been paid to an “outstanding” teacher who twice bravely fought the cancer that finally took her life.

Nadine Buttenshaw taught modern languages at Simon Langton Girls’ Grammar School at Canterbury. She died in hospital aged 48.

French-born Mrs Buttenshaw lived with her husband Colin and their children Thomas, 18, and Faustine, 14, in Pretoria Road, Canterbury.

Mrs Buttenshaw was first diagnosed with cancer of the colon in 2004. After six months of chemotherapy she was given the all clear and returned to the school to teach Spanish for a year.

But last summer the cancer came back. She had more chemotherapy and was given the all-clear a second time in January. Tragically, the cancer returned at Easter.

The school's head teacher Anthony Stanton described her as an outstanding teacher who was enthusiastic, encouraging, funny, vivacious and utterly committed to her classes.

“She faced her illness with enormous courage. Typically, after her first year of treatment, she came back to school and taught the whole of the last school year with her old skill, energy and hard work,” he said.

Mrs Buttenshaw grew up in a small village in south west France and came to England in 1980 when she was 21 to work as a French assistant at the North Girls’ and the North Boys’ Schools in Ashford.

Within weeks she had met Mr Buttenshaw, a PE teacher at the North Boys’ School, and the couple were married in 1985.

Mrs Buttenshaw, a talented linguist, completed her teacher training at Canterbury Christ Church University before starting teaching French at the Chaucer Technology School.

Mr Buttenshaw said his wife had loved Spain and virtually taught herself Spanish. Her grasp of the language was so good she had been mistaken for a native. She moved to Simon Langton nine years ago to teach Spanish.

Mr Buttenshaw stressed: “She loved being at the Langton because she was teaching a language she loved and she felt very much at home there.”

The funeral service takes place at Barham Crematorium at 2.40pm on Tuesday (June 5).

Mrs Buttenshaw wanted people to come dressed in colourful attire to celebrate her life.

Family flowers only. Donations in lieu of flowers can be made to the Cathedral Day Unit at Kent and Canterbury Hospital, through C.W. Lyons and Son Funeral Directors, Military Road, Canterbury.