2009 was the year that...
150 stars shone at the Teaching Awards
As the start of 2010 gets underway, now is the perfect time to look back and remember heroes who have made a difference in 2009, especially those in schools who have changed young lives.
They are the headteachers, teachers, teaching assistants, governors and sustainable schools of the year who each received a special thank you from the Teaching Awards in 2009. More than 7000 nominations were received this year from parents, pupils and colleagues who wanted to say thank you – a small gesture with a big impact.
In June, through the Teaching Awards judging process, 150 individuals and schools across the country won silver Platos, education’s symbol of excellence. Twelve of them went on to win gold Platos at the UK ceremony held on Sunday 25 October at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane and broadcast on BBC2.
The Teaching Awards UK ceremony was hosted by celebrity presenters Christine Bleakley and Jeremy Vine. Famous names congratulating the winners included actors Patrick Stewart OBE and Natascha McElhone, musician Jamie Cullum, model Jodie Kidd and tv choirmaster Gareth Malone.
Among the 12 UK winners was Edward Vickerman, 26, a former hotel worker, now an exceptionally gifted teacher who is also dyslexic. Ed won the SSAT Award for Outstanding New Teacher of the Year 2009 and is head of business at The Freeston Business & Enterprise College in Normanton, near Wakefield, West Yorkshire.
‘It’s amazing,’ he said later, ‘ you don’t expect to be pointed out when you just go in and do a job that you love, every single day. I’m very lucky to go in and do that job, it feels just wonderful. This award is for all outstanding new teachers, not just for the school and for me.'
Jodie Kidd, model and businesswoman, presented Ed with his gold Plato and explained that she was dyslexic too. ‘If you are at school and your dyslexia is not found you can go into life very downhearted. It’s wonderful that we’re recognising it and it’s coming to the forefront so people can be taught in the right way. And I wish I had had Ed as my teacher when I was at school, I really do. I’m so proud of him!’
Maxine Pittaway, headteacher of St Christopher's School, Wrexham, Clwyd, won gold with the DCSF Award for Enterprise for her exceptional contribution to the lives and future careers of young people with special needs.
On winning she said: ‘My family will be over the moon and the children will be delighted. I don’t think that I’m a hero - it gets in your blood and you just want the best for your children. Creating opportunities gives them an opportunity to excel’.
Actor Natascha McElhone said: ‘It’s such a pleasure to be here and Maxine is a really inspiring figure. It just takes one person doesn’t it, to believe in something you’re doing and your confidence grows and blossoms and anything becomes possible.’
Cardinal Wiseman RC School, winner of the DCSF Award for Sustainable Schools 2009, is just four miles from Coventry city centre but is a haven for horticulture with a menagerie of domestic and farm animals including Shetland ponies, alpacas and pigs. The school’s own-brand sausages have won the West Midlands Banger of the Year.
Sean O’Donovan, assistant headteacher of Cardinal Wiseman RC School who has been instrumental in making Cardinal Wiseman sustainable, shared his thoughts on winning the award: ‘All the students and staff have been involved for a long time and this is the climax which is just fantastic for us’.
Leading actor Patrick Stewart OBE told the UK ceremony about the profound influence of his English teacher, Cecil Dormand, now aged 96, who encouraged him to act at school and so made all the difference to his life. He said: ‘There are certain professions in this world whose value is beyond price in terms of impact on young lives, and teachers are certainly among them. To have individuals and the teaching profession (as a whole) acknowledged in this way on a national stage is no more than they deserve.’
