Andria Zafirakou insists that even the hardest-to-reach pupils can flourish if you go the extra mile for them.

It is that kind of mindset that has made the art and textiles teacher from Alperton Community School in Brent, north-west London, a finalist for this year’s Global Teacher Prize.

Zafirakou was selected for the shortlist from more than 30,000 entries from 173 countries, and the eventual winner is set to receive one million US dollars.

She teaches in one of the most deprived parts of the UK, where gang violence can be a problem. Research from 2011 found that 149 languages are spoken in Brent, and 85 per cent of students at Alperton do not have English as their first language.

“My calling in life is to make sure that every single child reaches their full potential…that whatever it is that they need to achieve, I make it happen for them,” she tells Tes.

It is the “against-all-odds stories” that are “the reason why I carry on doing this job day after day”, she adds.

One story that she recounts involves Raphael, a student with special educational needs, who was a selective mute and “completely withdrawn” when he arrived at the school. Zafirakou picked up on his love of art and Raphael has since flourished: he will leave Alperton soon, and she predicts he will go on to university and do well in a sector, such as game design.

“You would not know that this child has special educational needs,” she says. “He has come out of his shell and just feels so comfortable and confident - that, for me, is the dream.”

However, while she believes that teaching offers huge potential for career satisfaction, she warns that no one should enter the profession with overly romantic notions.

“Don’t get me wrong, teaching is the most difficult profession,” she says. “You will not have a social life, you will be dedicating yourself to this profession, and it’s so important that you understand what it means.

“But look at the impact you’re having - you’re changing lives, inspiring others, and I think that’s the key to why we’re doing it.”

‘I’m interested in what they want’

Zafirakou has been at Alperton for the entirety of her 12-year teaching career, and grew up in the area. “I absolutely love what I do,” she says. “I can’t imagine having any other job. They’re my kids - I’m a mum to 1,400 students.”

She adds: “Building relationships with your students is the absolute key. That’s the most important thing you need to do, not sort out your behaviour management. Once you build relationships with children, they are on board.

“I’m interested in their lives, in where they live and what their family situations are like. I’m interested in what they want - ‘Why are you not happy? What is it that you’ll need from me to get you engaged in that subject? Talk to me.’

“I think it’s just having that interest in a young person. If you can’t understand where they’re coming from, you’re not going to get through to them.”

Her love for the job and commitment to her students takes myriad forms, from forming a boxing club where children can channel their energy, to learning greetings in dozens of languages, to patrolling the streets outside the school to deter gang members from attempting to recruit her students.

The most memorable “above and beyond” moment in her career came when helping pupils onto a No 83 bus, when they suddenly started banging in panic on the upper-deck windows, shouting “Miss, let me out!”

“This gentleman had got onto the bus, as all our kids were piling on, then out from his bag he just pulled a handful of fairly large, live snakes, which he started twirling around his fingers,” she recalls. 

“The kids were terrified - it’s bad enough when they see a spider - and didn’t know what to do, so I shooed them off and called the authorities. That’s just one of the more unexpected things I’ve had to do in this job.”

‘Kids will feed off your energy’

Perhaps the most important quality in a teacher, she believes, is that “you absolutely love your subject”. If you do, she says, “the kids will feed off your energy, and that’s when the magic happens, that’s when you start building relationships with them - they’ll just fly, they’ll be incredible”.

Zafirakou’s bond with students is seen as a major factor in helping her school reach the top few per cent of the country in terms of qualifications and accreditations.

Colleagues interviewed in an awards video praised Zafirakou’s infectious enthusiasm and her willingness to do whatever it takes to support her students.

Headteacher Gerard McKenna says: “She will go the extra mile outside of school, helping students in the streets, on the way home, with the community - whatever she can do to help.”

Zafirakou leads on professional development in the school and fellow teacher Nicola Hazley spoke of “her faith in everyone being able to achieve the best they can”, adding that “you grab onto that enthusiasm she has and it drives you forward as well”.

The Global Teacher Prize will be presented at a ceremony in Dubai on Sunday 18 March, at the Global Education and Skills Forum, and if Zafirakou were to win the US$1m (£720,000) prize, she says she would put all the money back into her community.

She has already asked some students to form a committee to think about how the money might be spent.

Their suggestions demonstrate both their boundless ambition and the grinding realities of many pupils’ lives: some want futuristic robots for the playground, others want items as prosaic as a few more footballs, or an after-school food club for days when there is nothing to eat at home.

“I’m keeping all the options open, but that money will definitely be spent on my school community,” she says.

The 30,000 contenders for the Global Teacher Prize were initially whittled down to a shortlist of 50, before the final 10 were announced on Wednesday in a special video message from philanthropist and Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates.

The prize, now in its fourth year, was set up to recognise an exceptional teacher who has made an outstanding contribution to the profession, and to shine a spotlight on the crucial role teachers play in society.

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