Teachers honoured for changing the lives of children across the country as 2019 Pearson National Teaching Award Winners announced

CLICK HERE TO SEE THE 2019 SILVER WINNERS LIST

June 19th 2019

 ++ 68 Silver Award Winners shortlisted for UK’s “Oscars for Teachers” ++

++ 2019 Pearson National Teaching Award Winners inspire next generation of teachers ++

Today [19 June], on ‘Thank A Teacher Day’, 68 inspirational teachers from across the country are being honoured as Silver Pearson National Teaching Award Winners for their outstanding commitment to changing to lives of the children they teach day in, day out.

Following thousands of nominations, as the National Teaching Awards marks its 21^st year of celebrating excellence in education, award-winning teachers, teaching assistants, headteachers and lecturers across England, Wales and Northern Ireland will be presented with prestigious Pearson Silver Teaching Award trophies.

The Pearson National Teaching Awards is an annual celebration of exceptional teachers, founded in 1998 by Lord Puttnam to recognise the life-changing impact an inspirational teacher can have on the lives of the young people they teach – many of whom go on to train as teachers themselves thanks to the significant impact their teachers have had on them.

The 68 Silver Award winners, along with three Scottish Education Award winners and three winners of the Professional Teaching Awards Cymru, have been shortlisted to win one of just 13 Gold Awards, the UK’s “Oscars for Teachers”. The 21^st UK ceremony of the Pearson Teaching Awards, a glittering event held at the Roundhouse on 20 October. It is broadcast on BBC2 the following week, on 27 October, as “Britain’s Classroom Heroes” as a showcase of excellence in education.

Previous award presenters include former Prime Ministers David Cameron and Tony Blair, acting legends Jenny Agutter, Alison Steadman and Sheila Hancock, as well as sports and TV personalities including Shirley Ballas, Helen Glover, Brendan Cole and Nadiya Hussain.

Today, on ‘Thank A Teacher Day’ and throughout this week the Teaching Awards Trust – the charity that runs the awards – is asking people up and down the country to say “thank you” to a teacher who has made a significant difference in their lives. The Thank A Teacher campaign allows members of the public to send teachers a card in the post for free, by completing an online form and including a personal message. It takes two minutes but has a lasting impact on those exceptional teachers who receive them.

Michael Morpurgo, celebrated author and former Children’s Laureate, and President of the Teaching Awards Trust, said: “So often and for so many of us, it is a teacher who changed our lives, was at our side through hard and difficult times, who lifted us up when we were down, helped us find our voice, gave us confidence when we needed it most, set us on a path that we have followed ever since. At my school I had a French teacher, who might not have made a linguist of me, but was always kind to me. He loved his subject and passed that on. I still love French, the language, the people, the literature, but even he could not persuade me to learn my French grammar.” 

Rod Bristow, President of Pearson UK, said: “Congratulations to all of our Silver Award winners being presented with a sliver trophy by their pupils today. On Thank A Teacher Day, it’s a wonderful chance for them to say thank you to their award-winning teachers. We mustn’t forget that these pupils may well be the next generation of teachers, and that’s all thanks to the commitment of those currently in the profession. Recognising and celebrating teachers for the lasting impact they have on young people’s lives is crucial, and that’s why Pearson is delighted to support these Awards every year.”

Education Secretary Damian Hinds said: “To be shortlisted for this award from thousands of nominations across the UK is a fantastic achievement and a testament to all of the winners’ commitment to the profession. I’m delighted that we are supporting the Pearson Teaching Awards to recognise the life-changing effect inspirational teachers have on the lives of young people.

Teachers deserve our thanks every day, but as today is dedicated to them, I want to take the opportunity to give my personal thanks to each and every one of the 450,000 teachers up and down the country who are inspiring the next generation day in, day out. Meeting teachers and their pupils is the best part of my job and it’s been a pleasure to have visited over 100 schools since joining the Department. I’m constantly in awe of the dedication and enthusiasm I see both in and out of the classroom.”

The list of winners will be published at 5pm on Wednesday 19 June.

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For more information or to arrange interviews, please contact Mary Palmer on 07976 124 929 / [email protected] or Amy Leonard on 07960 116966 / [email protected]

Notes to Editors:

The Pearson National Teaching Awards are open to every school in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. The awards were established by Lord Puttnam CBE in 1998 and are managed by the Teaching Awards Trust, an independent charity. The vision of the charity is to recognise and celebrate excellence in education. It does this through its public-facing ‘Thank A Teacher’ campaign, and through the Pearson National Teaching Awards www.teachingawards.com.

Pearson is the world’s leading learning company, with 40,000 employees in more than 80 countries working to help people of all ages to make measurable progress in their lives through learning https://www.pearson.com/uk/

Michael Morpurgo is one of Britain’s best-loved writers for children. With a writing career that spans 4 decades, he has written over 100 books, selling more than 5 million copies in the UK and over 35 million worldwide. A former Children’s Laureate, Michael has won countless prizes, including the Smarties Prize, the Blue Peter Book Award and the Whitbread Award, and was awarded an OBE for Services to Literature. Michael was also awarded an MBE in 1999, along with his wife Clare, in recognition of their work in founding Farms For City Children, a charity that has enabled 100,000 children to visit the charity’s 3 farms over the last 40 years.

The 2019 Pearson National Teaching Award Categories are: