Teachers and School Staff Named as Finest in the Country in Week-Long Celebration of Teaching

UK’S MOST INSPIRATIONAL TEACHERS TO BE HONOURED IN CELEBRATION OF EXCELLENCE

++ TEACHERS AND SCHOOL STAFF NAMED AS FINEST IN THE COUNTRY IN WEEK-LONG CELEBRATION OF TEACHING ++

The nation’s most inspirational teachers and school staff are set to be honoured in a week-long celebration of teaching televised on The One Show on the BBC. This focus on celebrating teaching comes at a time when the country has truly recognised the vital work that schools do on a daily basis. Now, these award-winning school staff are to be honoured on a national platform.

Many of the Pearson National Teaching Award Gold Award winners, chosen from thousands of nominations, will receive national acclaim for their incredible work supporting students across the country. Each award winner has repeatedly gone above and beyond their role to change the lives of their students and help them move towards a brighter future.

Each evening this week, award-winning teachers, teaching assistants and lecturers will be featured on The One Show to celebrate their outstanding achievement, in a UK-wide celebration of our teachers and school staff.

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.

Alex Jones, Presenter of the One Show, said:

“We are so thrilled to feature these incredible teachers and school staff on our show this week! We all know the value of a great teacher, and every one of these award winners has proven themselves to be both outstanding and inspirational. There has never been a more important time to celebrate the hard work that happens in our schools across the country, and we are delighted to do our bit to thank them.”

Michael Morpurgo, celebrated author and former Children’s Laureate, and President of the Teaching Awards Trust, said:

“We have long known the impact that one superb teacher can have, the young people they can inspire and the lives they can change. But this past year has shown us all, more than perhaps ever before, the true value of teachers.

“No one becomes a teacher for the applause it brings, and indeed too often it can feel a thankless role. That is why this coming week is so important. It is our opportunity to show our thanks, to praise their endeavours and to tell their stories.”

Rod Bristow, President of Pearson UK, said:

“Congratulations to all of our wonderful Gold Award winners on their success. They have all displayed the most fantastic dedication to this superb profession and truly deserve to have their hard work recognised in this way.

“We want staff in schools and colleges across the country to know how deeply we appreciate the work they do and the impact they have. More than ever before we have gained a real understanding of the incredible work school and college staff do every day, and we are delighted to have this week celebrating them. They deserve nothing less.”

Education Secretary Gavin Williamson said:

“A massive congratulations to this year’s gold award winners – teachers and school staff truly deserve the national recognition for the work they do to motivate, inspire and support pupils day in, day out.

“This year has been like no other, and it is because of schools’ hard work that millions of pupils are able to be in the classroom receiving an outstanding education. I would like to thank every single teacher and staff member for what they have done for our children.”

ENDS

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 are the world’s learning company with more than 24,000 employees operating in 70 countries. We combine world-class educational content and assessment, powered by services and technology, to enable more effective teaching and personalized learning at scale. We believe that wherever learning flourishes so do people.

Michael Morpurgo is one of Britain’s best-loved writers for children. With a writing career that spans four 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 three farms over the last 40 years.

The 2020 Pearson National Teaching Award Categories are: