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
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