PRESS ASSOCIATION -- The magical school she created may be fictional, but many children also believe JK Rowling would also be a wizard in their classrooms, a poll suggests.

A new survey reveals that the Harry Potter author is children's most popular choice when it comes to the perfect female teacher.

And Hogwarts' famous headmaster, Albus Dumbledore, was the most popular choice for perfect male teacher.

But parents have a different view of perfection, opting for Carol Vorderman and Stephen Fry as the ideal people to teach their offspring.

The survey, commissioned by the Times Educational Supplement (TES), asked parents and children to pick people they thought would make perfect male and female teachers from a list of celebrities and well-known figures.

Two fifths (40%) of the children questioned said JK Rowling would make the perfect female teacher. Miss Honey, the teacher from Roald Dahl's Matilda (26%), Cheryl Cole (25%) and the Duchess of Cambridge (21%) also scored highly.

Among parents, TV presenter Carol Vorderman was the top choice, picked by 48%, with actress Helen Mirren (36%), JK Rowling (31%) and comedienne Dawn French (27%) also popular.

When it comes to the perfect male teacher, a third (36%) of children selected Dumbledore, while 26% thought Yoda from Star Wars would do well in front of the blackboard, and the same proportion said chef Jamie Oliver would be perfect in the classroom.

Stephen Fry was picked by 40% of parents, making him the most popular option, followed by naturalist and broadcaster David Attenborough (35%) and businessman Lord Alan Sugar (25%).

:: The YouGov poll questioned 2,014 UK parents with children at secondary school and 530 secondary-age pupils between August 19-30.