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“The work of teachers has unique outcomes for the health, wealth and welfare of every single person in this country. As a nation, we should be fantastically proud of them, I know I am.” – Lord Puttnam CBE, founder,Teaching Awards Trust.

2018 marks the 20th anniversary of the Teaching Awards. That’s a lot of winners, and a lot of trophies!

The Teaching Awards were set up 20 years ago in 1998 by Lord David Puttnam to recognise and celebrate excellence in education.   His vision was that as a society we should honour outstanding teachers and teaching and highlight just how vital success in education is to the UK!  And whilst a lot has changed in 20 years, that mission has not.

AN AWARD CAN CHANGE TEACHERS’ LIVES – READ OUR AMBASSADORS’ STORIES

We all remember a great teacher. Teachers change lives and we should value, celebrate and thank our amazing teachers every day! We are so proud of each and every one of our winners.

If you were a winner and want to share your story get in touch, or perhaps you were a pupil at a winning school? Either way share your story here #20YearsTA

Our national Teaching Awards, and our Thank a Teacher campaign help raise the profile of the teaching profession, and the impact teachers and school leaders have in our society.

The “Thank-a-Teacher” campaign

This is open all year round, and encourages members of the public to say “thank you” to a teacher who has made a difference in their lives.
Anyone can fill in our online form including a personal message, we will send your teacher a Thank You card in the post for free.
We contact the schools of teachers who receive a “thank you” as we approach our awards entry deadline. Headteachers are invited to use a thank you card as the starting point for an award entry in our UK-wide Teaching Awards.
You can see a short film we made with real thank you messages here.

The annual national Pearson Teaching Awards

  • We run a national awards programme that identifies and celebrates leading teachers from across the UK.  Any teacher in England, Wales and Northern Ireland can be nominated for a Teaching Award by their school or FE college.  An in-depth selection process, involving judging visits to the schools, identifies ground-breaking teachers who can go on to receive the accolade of Gold Teaching Award winner.
  • There are two levels of winners. On June 22nd Silver winners will be announced in schools across the country. On July 4th we celebrate our Silver winners with a Tea at the House of Commons, see photos from last year’s event here.
  • From among the Silver winners, just 12 teachers will go on to win a Gold Plato (one in each category), announced at a glittering UK awards ceremony on 21st October. This is broadcast on television by BBC2. You can see clips from previous UK ceremonies here.

You can watch clips from our previous awards shows, or even upload your own video to thank a teacher on our YouTube channel. Our playlists, include celebrities thanking a teacher, and sharing memories of their own school days – watch Anna Friel, David Morrissey, Jeremy Vine, Beverley Knight, Minnie Driver, and many more.