Sixty-five silver Pearson teaching awards have been handed out across the country, in the 20th year of celebrating excellence in education. The trophies will be presented to outstanding teachers, teaching assistants, headteachers and lecturers in schools and colleges across England, Wales and Northern Ireland, following thousands of nominations. Silver award winners will go on to the 20th UK ceremony of the Pearson teaching awards, which will be held in central London on October 21. There they will find out which of them has achieved one of just 12 Gold Plato awards, considered the UK’s teaching Oscars. This year’s ceremony, entitled “Britain’s classroom heroes”, will be filmed and broadcast by the BBC as a showcase of excellence in education. Previous award presenters have included former prime ministers David Cameron and Tony Blair, acting legends Jenny Agutter, Alison Steadman and Sheila Hancock, and sports and TV personalities including Strictly Come Dancing’s Brendan Cole and The Great British Bake Off’s Nadiya Hussain. Eleven teachers and teams from across the UK were named as the winners of the 2017 awards in October, at a ceremony hosted by BBC presenter Naga Munchetty and broadcaster Sean Fletcher. The staff team at the Rowans Alternative Provision Academy in Kent won the school team of the year award, and special guests included the Olympic rower Heather Stanning and Strictly judge Shirley Ballas. As part of the celebrations this year, members of the public can say a special thank-you to a teacher who has made a difference in their lives by leaving a message on an online form at www.teachingawards.com/card, and the teacher will receive a card in the post for free. “The best we can do is to pass on to children all that we know and love and mean every word. I think above all else, a teacher should be a friend, and that’s not an easy thing to do when there are 35 children out there,” said Michael Morpurgo, an author and former Children’s laureate, who is president of the Teaching Awards Trust. “With these awards we are shining a light on these inspirational individuals whose efforts and commitment so often go uncelebrated.” Rod Bristow, the president of Pearson UK, added “huge congratulations to all those receiving a silver trophy today”. “They should feel extremely proud of their achievements and join an inspirational group of Teaching Award winners from the past two decades,” he continued. “It’s an honour for Pearson to support these awards each year – it’s so vital to recognise and celebrate those in the teaching profession, for their commitment to education and for the impact they have on young people’s lives.“ The full list of this year’s silver award winners: School of the year – ‘Making a difference’, supported by Future First Benjamin Adlard Primary School, Gainsborough, Lincolnshire Cambourne Village College, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire Dixons Trinity Academy, Bradford, West Yorkshire Fullhurst Community College, Leicester, Leicestershire Jo Richardson Community School, Dagenham, Essex Outstanding new teacher of the year Ms Lisa Buckley, Lakeside School, Liverpool, Merseyside Ms Charlotte Grace, Outwood Academy Shafton, Barnsley, South Yorkshire Mr Ryan Mallett, Ormiston Chadwick Academy, Widnes, Cheshire Ms Jane Woo, Christ’s College Finchley, London Teacher of the year in a primary school Ms Jane Brown, Brundall Primary School, Brundall, Norfolk Mrs Heather Cooper, Spire Junior School, Chesterfield, Derbyshire Miss Caroline Duffy, Mercy Primary School, Belfast Mrs Nicola Fredrickson, St. Helen’s Primary School, Sandfields, Swansea Mr James Horwood, Fourfields Community Primary School, Peterborough, Cambs Ms Laura McDonald, Hillcrest Early Years Academy, Gainsborough, Lincolnshire Mr Andy Silvester, Crowmarsh Gifford C of E Primary School, Wallingford, Oxfordshire Ms Jan Wilson, The Mount School, York, North Yorkshire Teacher of the year in a secondary school, supported by SSAT Mr Jay Bradley, The Academy of St Francis of Assisi, Liverpool, Merseyside Miss Romayne Charles, Higham Lane School, Nuneaton, Warwickshire Mr Tom Knott, The Totteridge Academy, London Mr Christopher Langmead, Tor Bridge High School, Plymouth, Devon Mr Ashley Lewis, The Morley Academy, Leeds, West Yorkshire Mr Dale McMorran, Wymondham College, Wymondham, Norfolk Ms Shalina Patel, Claremont High School Academy, Harrow, Middlesex Miss Helen Reddy, Ivybridge Community College, Ivybridge, Devon Ms Victoria Withall, The Elizabethan Academy, Retford, Nottinghamshire Headteacher of the year in a primary school Mr Chris Flathers, The Gold Star Federation – Goldbeaters & The Orion Primary Schools, Edgware, London Ms Maggie Rose, Timberley Academy, Birmingham, West Midlands Headteacher of the year in a secondary school Mr Ben Antell, Glenmoor and Winton Academies, Bournemouth, Dorset Mrs Andrea English, The Oaks Secondary School, Spennymoor, Co Durham Mrs Leanne Griffiths, The Morley Academy, Leeds, West Yorkshire Mr Ron Searle, The Warwick School, Redhill, Surrey Lifetime achievement Ms Valerie Dunsford, Sheffield High School for Girls, Sheffield, South Yorkshire Ms Gillian Edge, Killinghall Primary School, Bradford, West Yorkshire Mr Bruce Goddard, Highlands School, London Ms Janet Macleod, Sawston Village College, Sawston, Cambridgeshire Mrs Jennifer Sims, Saffron Walden County High School, Saffron Walden, Essex Outstanding use of technology in education, supported by Google Ms Kate Farrell, Homewood School and Sixth Form Centre, Tenterden, Kent Dr Jamie Frost, Tiffin School, Kingston-Upon-Thames, Surrey Miss Louise Porter, Ribblesdale High School, Clitheroe, Lancashire Mr Lee Whitmarsh, Alsager School, Alsager, Cheshire Mr Matt Woodfine, Hinchingbrooke School, Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire Excellence in special needs education Ms Bethany Barnsley, Devonshire Infant and Junior Academies, Smethwick, West Midlands Mrs Dawn Broom, Fir Vale School Academy Trust, Sheffield, South Yorkshire Ms Aimee Jackson, Henshaws Specialist College, Harrogate, North Yorkshire Mr Mark Lambert, Tyne Coast College, South Shields, Tyne and Wear Ms Marie Watson, The Royal School for the Deaf, Derby Teaching assistant of the year Mr Christopher Haywood, Almondbury Community School, Huddersfield, West Yorkshire Mr James Poynter, Clacton County High School, Clacton-on-Sea, Essex Ms Amy Westwood, New Horizons Academy, Warrington, Cheshire FE lecturer of the year Mr Joe Cornmell, LIPA Sixth Form College, Liverpool, Merseyside Ms Charmaine Hale-Lynch, Weston College, Weston-super-Mare, Somerset Mr Jonathan Wharton, Sunderland College, Sunderland FE team of the year The Essential Skills Team, Belfast Metropolitan College, Belfast The Performing Arts Team, Gower College, Swansea, Wales The Welfare and Pastoral Support Services Team, Weston College, Weston-Super-Mare, Somerset The Teaching Team in the Programme Area of Education, Leisure and Wellbeing, Leyton Sixth Form College, London