PRESS RELEASE
STRICLTY EMBARGOED TO 00:01 EST (05:01 LOND0N) WEDNESDAY 17 FEBRUARY 2016
UK TEACHER MAKES FINAL TEN FOR US$1 MILLION GLOBAL TEACHER PRIZE 2016
Colin Hegarty, from Preston Manor School, a comprehensive in Wembley, North West London, has been included in the top 10 shortlist for the Varkey Foundation Global Teacher Prize 2016 at globalteacherprize.org
Now in its second year, and widelyreferred to as the Nobel Prize for teaching, the US$1 millionaward is the largest prize of its kind.
The Global Teacher Prize was set up to recognize 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 top ten have been narrowed down from 8,000 nominations and applications from 148 countries from around the world. By highlighting their stories the Varkey Foundation hopes that the public will be able to join in passionate debates about the importance of teachers. The winner will be announced at the Global Education and Skills Forum in Dubai on Sunday 13 March 2016.
Colin Hegarty grew up in a one-bedroom London council flat. His Irish immigrantparents, a builder and a cleaner, emphasised the importance of education.He went on to became the first person from his family to attend university,gaining a first-class degree in Mathematics from Oxford University.
Colin uses a flipped classroom approach to teach mathematics to Londonstudents aged 11-18. He believes there is no such thing as being ‘bad atmaths’; it is simply a case of hard work and receiving the right kind oftuition and support. Since setting up a series of online teaching aids tohelp a student who was forced to move abroad to care for his father, Colinhas created 1,500 online videos which have been viewed almost 5 milliontimes. The free resources on Colin’s website have been used in at least 65UK schools and have had a great impact on the grades of his students andthe understanding of those across the world.
Colin is a sought-after presenter at conferences and teacher trainingseminars. He writes about educational issues online and was rankedamong the top 50 most influential UK bloggers. His popular posts havediscussed improving students’ confidence in their mathematical ability,the similarities between teachers and entrepreneurs, and the role oftechnology in education.Colin received the 2015 National Teacher of the Year award from Prime Minister David Cameron.
Sunny Varkey, founder of the Varkey Foundation, said:
“I want to congratulate Colin Hegartyfor being selected as a top ten finalist from such a huge number of talented and dedicated teachers. I hope his story will inspire those looking to enter the teaching profession and also shine a powerful spotlight on the incredible work teachers do all over the UK and throughout the world everyday.
“The thousands of nominations and applications we received from every corner of the planet is testimony to the achievements of teachers and the enormous impact they have on all of our lives.”
Ban Ki-moon, Secretary-General of the United Nations, said:
“I count my teachers as among the most influential people in my life. Teachers are entrusted with nurturing the potential of the young and helping them blossom as productive and responsible members of society. It is hard to underestimate their value.
“I applaud the launch of the Global Teacher Prize, which recognizes their worth. The award is in line with my Global Education First Initiative, launched in 2012, which aims to give momentum to the worldwide movement to put every child in school, improve the quality of learning and foster global citizenship.”
Bill Gates, Co-Chair of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, said:
“We were so excited by the plans to launch the Global Teacher Prize. I also want to recognise the leadership of Sunny Varkey, Founder of GEMS Education, who had the idea for this prize and is a great partner for our Foundation.”
Academy Award winning actor Kevin Spacey, who sits on the Global Teacher Prize Academy that chooses the final winner, said:
"When I was starting out, I was inspired by an older, more experienced actor, who told me that he thought I ought to go into acting professionally. That's the kind of mentoring and personal support that every young person needs to realise their potential.
"It's the kind of encouragement and guidance that good teachers give to their pupils every day. And that is why I support the Varkey GEMS Foundation's Global Teacher Prize.However much we achieve in life, we all began learning the basics from a teacher in a classroom.Those that teach - devoting their talents and time to nurturing the talents of others - deserve to be respected and celebrated."
After winning the Global Teacher Prize 2015, Nancie Atwell, a teacher from Maine, USA, said:
“I'm honored and proud to receive the Global Teacher Prize. I love my teaching life - the intellectual, social, and personal challenges of working with young people and the satisfaction of developing methods that transform their lives and give them perspective on the lives of others. I am grateful to the Varkey Foundation for shining a light on teaching as a powerful profession, one of fulfillment, creativity, and lasting worth.”
The winner will then be chosen from ten finalists by a Global Teacher Prize Academy. All ten finalists will be invited to Dubai for the Award ceremony at the Global Education and Skills Forum (GESF) in March this year where the winner will be announced live.
Middlesbrough Teacher Richard Spencer, who became a top ten finalist for the Global Teacher Prize 2015, said:
"The experience of reaching the Top Ten was incredible. Highlights included meeting world leaders; TV, radio, magazine and newspaper interviews; meeting the other finalists, and finding out more about their contributions to the teaching profession; and receiving numerous requests to speak at conferences and run workshops.”
There are challenges with regard to teacher respect in the UK, according to the Global Teacher Status Index, the world’s first comprehensive attempt to compare the status of teachers around the world. The index finds that when asked which other professions have a comparable status to teaching, Britons are most likely to compare teachers to nurses and social workers. Just five per cent of respondents compared the status of teachers to that of doctors. Only 21 per cent of people think that pupils respect teachers, and only around a quarter of people would probably or definitely encourage their child into teaching.
The other nine finalists for the Global Teacher prize 2016 are:
Aqeela Asifi, who teaches children at the Kot Chandana refugee camp, Punjab, Pakistan
Ayub Mohamud, a business studies teacher at Eastleigh High School in Nairobi, Kenya
Hanan Al Hroub, from Samiha Khalil High School, Al-Bireh, Palestine
Joe Fatheree from Effingham High School, Effingham, Illinois, USA
Kazuya Takahashi, a teacher at the Kogakuin University Junior and Senior High School, Tokyo, Japan
Maarit Rossi, a maths teacher at Kartanonranta School, Finland
Michael Soskil from Wallenpaupack South Elementary School, Newfoundland, Pennsylvania, USA
Richard Johnson, a science teacher at Rostrata Primary School, Perth, Western Australia
Robin Chaurasiya, from Kranti School, Mumbai, India
Further information about the top 10 shortlist will be available from Wednesday 17 February here: To join the conversation online follow #TeachersMatter on:
Colin Hegarty’s twitter handle is
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NOTES TO EDITORS:
1. The Varkey Foundationbelieves every child deserves a vibrant, stimulating learning environment that awakens and supports their full potential. We believe nothing ismoreimportant to achieving this than the passion and quality of teachers.Wesupport global teaching capacity and seed excellence and innovation in the next generation of educators. We also founded the Global Teacher Prize to shine a spotlight on the incrediblework teachers do all over the world.
2. The top 50 shortlisted teachers was narrowed down to the final ten teachers by a Prize Committee. The winner will be chosen from these ten finalists by the Global Teacher Prize Academy. The Prize Committee and the Academy will look for evidence that applicants meet the following criteria:
- Recognition of a teacher’s achievements in the classroom and beyond from pupils, colleagues, head-teachers or members of the wider community.
- Employing innovative and effective instructional practices
- Achieving demonstrable student learning outcomes in the classroom.
- Ensuring children receive a values-based education that prepares them to be global citizens in a world where they will encounter people from many different religions, cultures and nationalities.
- Achievements in the community beyond the classroom that provide unique and distinguished models of excellence for the teaching profession and others.
- Encouraging others to join the teaching profession. Contributing to public debates on the teaching profession, whether through writing articles, blogs, media participation, social media campaigns, events or conferences.
3. The Prize Committee includes Vikas Pota, CEO of the Varkey Foundation; Sir Michael Tomlinson, former UK Chief Inspector of Schools; Ann Mroz, Editor, Times Education Supplement; David Edwards,Dep. General Secretary of Education International, Jacque Kahura, top ten finalist from Kenya for Global Teacher Prize 2015,Jiang Xueqin, Deputy Principal, Tsinghua International School China,Vandana Goyal,Chief Executive Officer of the Akanksha Foundationand Nancie Atwell, winner of the Global Teacher Prize 2015.
4. The Global Teacher Prize Academy includes prominent names such as Academy Award winning actor Kevin Spacey; Carina Wong, Deputy Director oftheBill and Melinda Gates Foundation; Wendy Kopp, co-founder and CEO of Teach for All; Brett Wigdortz, founder and CEO of Teach First,NickBooth,CEO,The Royal Foundation of The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry, Jeffrey D. Sachs,world-renowned professor of economics and special advisor to the U.N and Lewis Pugh, theonly person to have completed a long distance swim in every ocean of the world.
5. The Global Teacher Prize winner will be paid the prize money in equal installments over ten years, and the Varkey Foundation will provide the winner with financial counseling. Without compromising their work in the classroom, the winner will be asked to serve as a global ambassador for the Varkey Foundation, attending public events and speaking in public forums about improving the prestige of the teaching profession. A condition of winning the prize is that the winner remains as a classroom teacher for at least five years.
6. PriceWaterhouseCoopers will be responsible for ensuring that the balloting process is fair and accurate. Criminal record and other background checks will be conducted on the shortlisted candidates. Top ten finalists fromGlobal Teacher Prize 2015 could not apply for Global Teacher Prize 2016.
7. The Global Teacher Prize is part of the Varkey Foundation’s long-standing commitment to improve the status of teachers. In November 2013, the foundation published theGlobal Teacher Status Index, the first attempt to compare attitudes towards teachers in 21 countries. The index found that there were significant differences between the status of teachers worldwide. The survey also found that in many countries, between a third and half of parents would “probably” or “definitely not” encourage their children to enter the teaching profession. The full Global Teacher Status Index can be found at: