A former English teacher who taught hundreds of children during three different decades at a Kent school has died.

Tributes to Kristin Foster, who worked at The Charles Dickens School in Broadstairs for 25 years throughout the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, are being shared following her death.

Her son, Edward, described his mum as "the best mother" he could have asked for.

Mrs Foster retired in 2018 - having quit teaching when she left Charles Dickens in 1995 - but just three years into her retirement the avid cricket fan broke her thigh after a fall at her Thanet home.

Having spent time recovering at a nursing home in Westgate, her condition worsened and she was transferred to Temple Ewell Nursing Home outside Dover several months later.

Sadly, she died on Wednesday (October 16) - two weeks after her 80th birthday - following a fourth and final bout of sepsis.

Survived by her two twin sons, Edward and Stephen, plus six grandchildren, Mrs Foster's death has been felt by her family, friends, and former colleagues.

"The first word to sum up my mum is bravery," said Edward, 51.

"She had this sheer stubbornness and although she said she wasn't a strong person, she went through quite a lot.

"For many years she was a single parent at a time while she was working full-time, so she sacrificed everything for us which, when you're younger, you don't appreciate as much.

"She even had to sell things like her engagement ring to put us through private school at Haddon Dene in Broadstairs.

"She said she wasn't naturally maternal but she was the best mother."

Born in October 1944 in Dewsbury, Yorkshire, Mrs Foster faced adversity before she could even walk when her father, William, whom she had never met, was killed during the final two weeks of the Second World War in Germany.

However, she soon became the first person in her family to enrol at college, and pass her 11-plus exam, when she attended Dover Grammar School for Girls and later Simon Langton Grammar School for Girls in her then hometown of Canterbury.

Deciding to embark on her dream job of teaching, she joined Kirkby Fields College in Liverpool in 1963.

During her time in the north-west she met and later married husband, Richard, and the two moved to east Kent almost immediately.

After giving birth to her two sons in November 1972, the couple separated though in 1988.

The three of them continued living in Fairfield Road, Broadstairs, just 800m away from Charles Dickens School where she had already been teaching for more than a decade.

Edward says the school gave his mum some terrific memories during her near 20-year stint there until her departure in around 1995.

"She said teaching was never a job but a vocation and a passion to want to give people an opportunity," added Edward, who is a father-of-two.

"Mum was a union representative who enjoyed representing people and lengthy discussions about politics.

"Her head was always in a book from a very young age as she had a real passion for literature - particularly First World War poems.

"She also liked detective novels and had hundreds of them, so when she decided she wanted to become a teacher, English was the natural thing.

"Charles Dickens School [was] where she spent some of the happiest years of her teaching life.

"She started as a specialist English teacher, moving up to become a housemistress and assistant head of English.

"Mum also served for many years as the teacher representative on the governing body.

"She just had a real love of education and would get up to feed her cats and do her marking at 5am every day."

After retiring from teaching, Mrs Foster worked for her other son, Stephen, for 15 years at his pharmacy business - including at places like Northdown Pharmacy in Cliftonville - until she called it a day in 2018.

Prior to her death, Edward says his mum had several other hobbies she enjoyed.

"Her other real passion was pets. When we were growing up we had a lovely Great Dane called Alice.

"But after that my mum become a very big cat fan and would take in strays and have kittens others didn't want. At one stage she at least seven cats.

"She loved watching cricket and was a big Liverpool fan too from her time at teacher training college there.

"Whenever we were in the nursing home with her we would turn the television on and it would be live sport."

Simon Crabtree, who taught alongside Mrs Foster at Charles Dickens, also paid tribute to his former colleague.

He explained: “I knew Kristin quite well when I started teaching at the school in 1990 and she was at the end of her career.

"We did a canteen duty together on a Wednesday and I’ve seldom met anyone able to control a crowd of hungry teenagers with just a look.

"Kristin had a reputation for being a strict, but fair, teacher which meant she was respected by the students.

"She cared and wanted them to better themselves by instilling resilience and hard work.

"Kristin was always very kind to me and she certainly left a legacy when she retired.”

Sara Geddes, who attended teacher training college with Mrs Foster in the 1960s, said: "I first got to know Tinny at teachers’ college in Kirkby.

"She was lively with a good sense of humour. I recall the distinctive sound of her laughter - she was a great mimic of the foibles and mannerisms of our various lecturers, which kept us entertained.

"Also, she had a more serious side and enjoyed a discussion about books, politics and life in general.

"She was very much part of our particular 'clan'.

"We all met in each others’ rooms and enjoyed each others’ company.”