Two maths teachers from England are on the shortlist for this year’s Global Teacher Prize.
Tes award winner Nicola Whiston, from Ormiston Horizon Academy, in Stoke-on-Trent, and Jamie Frost, from Tiffin School, a boys’ grammar School, in Kingston upon Thames, have made a list of 50 teachers, one of whom will win the prize of $1 million (£865,000).
More than 12,000 teachers from around 140 countries entered the competition, now in its sixth year, which is organised by children’s charity The Varkey Foundation in partnership with Unesco.
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Stefania Giannini, assistant director-general for education at Unesco, said: “Every child in the world deserves an inspiring teacher and inspiring teachers deserve wide social recognition.
“Now, more than ever, in a world of competing priorities, governments throughout the world must invest in teachers to meet their commitments to deliver universal quality education by 2030.”
Global Teacher Prize: Inspiring teachers around the world
The prize was set up to recognise one exceptional teacher who has made an outstanding contribution to the profession as well as to shine a spotlight on the important role teachers play in society. By unearthing thousands of stories of heroes that have transformed young people’s lives, the prize hopes to bring to life the exceptional work of millions of teachers all over the world.
The winning ceremony will this year take place in London at the Natural History Museum on 12 October.
Jamie Frost is the creator of a popular website for maths tuition, DrFrostMaths.com, which provides an online learning platform, teaching resources, videos and a bank of exam questions to practise, all for free. The site’s learning resources have been downloaded over 6 million times, with daily page hits now approaching half a million, with often over 800 users at any given time.
Meanwhile, Jamie travels internationally to speak about his teaching methods and his resources have been used around the world to provide teaching for schools in Zimbabwe, for disabled students, and even for 18- to 21-year-olds in an Ohio prison.
Nicola Whiston, who was the Tes Maths Teacher of the Year 2018, works in areas of high social deprivation to transform the life chances of her students, and has taken on the responsibility of helping disadvantaged boys across her school, some of whom live in socially challenging communities. She uses school Instagram pages and other social media to boost interest in maths and, as a result, students’ results have improved, as has the bond between teachers and students.
She has also helped set up projects, including a social project for disadvantaged pupils and a project to clean up the community while promoting recycling and greener living. She has also linked up with a bank to run workshops introducing children to real-life finances.
Sunny Varkey, founder of the Varkey Foundation and the Global Teacher Prize, said: “Congratulations to Jamie Frost and Nichola Whiston for reaching the final 50. I hope their stories inspire those looking to enter the teaching profession and highlight the incredible work teachers do all over the world every day.
“The Global Teacher Prize will start this new decade with renewed purpose and energy, moving the prize ceremony around the world, spreading the message deeper into new host countries, and making the prize’s reputation live up to its name as a true global celebration of teachers.”
The 50 shortlisted teachers are narrowed down to 10 finalist teachers, overseen by a prize committee.
