A London teacher who raised more than £100,000 within a fortnight for the survivors of the Grenfell Tower fire has been named in the shortlist for next year’s million-dollar teacher.

Eartha Pond (pictured above), a PE and sports teacher from The Crest Academy, in North London, is among four British teachers included in the 50-strong shortlist for the Global Teacher Prize.

The shortlisted teachers have been selected from more than 30,000 nominations and applications, from 173 countries around the world.

Ms Pond played Premier League football for Arsenal and Chelsea women’s teams, before training as a teacher. She combines working as vice-principal for The Crest Academy with playing for Spurs in the FA Women’s Super League.

This year, she marked school sports day with a fundraising drive for the survivors of the Grenfell Tower disaster. She persuaded local businesses to lend their support, bringing the total raised to more than £100,000.

Among the other three British teachers on the shortlist is Tuesday Humby (pictured below), principal of Ormiston Chadwick Academy, in Cheshire.

Her school serves a predominantly white, working-class community, and many pupils had previously neither been outside their home town nor eaten a meal in a restaurant.

Ms Humby has introduced an enrichment charter, which ensures that each pupil eats at a restaurant, goes to the theatre and travels abroad - including a trip to Kenya - before leaving the school.

Fellow shortlisted teacher Andria Zafirakou (pictured below) teaches at Alperton Community School, in North London, serving one of the poorest communities in the UK.

Ms Zafirakou learned to speak several languages, so that she could engage with her immigrant pupils and their families, and has redesigned the curriculum so that it relates to their lives.

And Rebecca Cramer (pictured above), co-founder and headteacher of Reach Academy Free School, in West London, has focused on building effective relationships. She has designed a curriculum that allows pupils to engage with the kinds of challenging materials that will push them outside their comfort zones.

‘Rightful position’

The top 10 finalists for the Global Teacher Prize 2018 will be announced in February. The winner - who will receive $1 million over 10 years - will be named at the Global Education and Skills Forum in Dubai, on 18 March.

Sunny Varkey, founder of the Global Teacher Prize, said that he hoped that the shortlisted teachers would inspire those considering entering the teaching profession “and shine a spotlight on the incredible work teachers do all over the world every day”.

He added: “We intend to keep this momentum going, as our journey continues to return teachers to their rightful position as one of the most respected professions in society.”

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