As we approach the end of the year, we wanted to take a moment to share our highlights from the whirlwind of the last few weeks! As we do every year in November, we once again had the privilege of celebrating the teaching profession at our 2024 Pearson National Teaching Awards. Watch our wrap-up video here to relive the magic!
Teachers, lecturers and support staff from all corners of the UK gathered at the Brewery in London on Saturday 30th November for an unforgettable evening. Together we shone a light on the remarkable work happening every day in our nation’s nurseries, schools and colleges. But the celebrations started way before that Saturday night…
Week-Long Celebration with BBC’s The One Show
For the fifth year running, BBC’s The One Show ramped up the excitement in the run up to the ceremony. From 25th – 29th November, they featured gold winner reveals, surprise visits and heart-warming stories. Highlights included:
⭐Blue’s Duncan James surprising Natalie Poornomansy at her Doncaster school with her Gold Award for Teacher of the Year in a Primary school. Watch the surprise here.
⭐Alex Jones attempting to hide behind a plant before delivering the good news to our gold winner in the Unsung Hero category, Greg Smalley. View it here.
⭐Students gathering to honour their “Queen Incredible”, Headteacher Dawn Ferdinand, in a superhero-themed celebration as she was awarded gold in the Headteacher of the Year in a Primary School category. Watch the clip here.
Missed out on the excitement? Don’t worry, you can catch all episodes on BBC iPlayer.
Making headlines – Teaching Awards in the spotlight
Once again, we’re overwhelmed by how the Teaching Awards have captured the nation’s attention. Stories of transformative teaching have been featured across major news outlets, local media, and social media platforms.
We have now achieved a total of 103 pieces, with an incredible reach of 60 million.
Here are some of the highlights:
🌟 The Sunday Times Parent Power feature on David Kershaw
🌟Guest breaks down in tears as Roman Kemp surprises teacher on air – The Mirror
🌟NI teacher wins prestigious national award – BBC News
🌟 Teacher honoured with an award for his incredible contribution to education – OK Magazine
Read about all of our winners in this article from Schools Week:
Revealed: The 2024 Pearson Teaching Awards winners
A Night to Remember – Our Glittering Awards Ceremony
The week of celebrations kicked off by BBC’s The One Show ended with our annual ceremony, where we once again honoured all our finalists and revealed the remaining Gold Award winners.
We’re incredibly proud that we get to highlight the impact teachers and educators across the country make on students and their wider communities.
Among the winners were:
And so many more. It was an honour to celebrate all these fantastic educators and learn more about the great work being done by everyone in their wider teaching community.
Will 2025 Be Your Year?
Entries are now open for the 2025 Pearson National Teaching Awards. Have you got a fantastic colleague you could nominate?
All the winners we speak to all say the same thing: how they couldn’t do this good work without a strong team of colleagues and support staff.
A nomination for one person is an award for your entire school community.
The ‘Grandfriends’ Helping Children Held Back By Covid
The incredible team at Woolenwick Infant and Nursery School in Stevenage are the very worthy winners of our Impact through Partnership Gold Award. When the school fully reopened after the pandemic, staff began to realise how the children’s development had been negatively impacted. Many returned to school lacking social skills, not knowing how to share, and struggling to express their ideas. The school decided it needed a different approach, incorporating more art and music classes into the timetable to build confidence through group work. But their secret weapon was their ‘grandfriends’ initiative. Each week a group of children visit a nearby retirement community and take part in activities ranging from yoga to baking.
Both the children and the residents have benefitted from the initiative – a brainwave of two nursery nurses at Woolenwick. Children who previously did not speak at all in school are now putting their hands up during class discussions. Older people who used to stay in their rooms, suffering from depression and loneliness, now come out and join in. Read the full Sunday Times article about the heart-warming initiative that saw this school win our Gold Award in the Impact through Partnership category.
Have you got a transformational partnership story to share? Why not make 2025 the year to celebrate it?
Looking Ahead – Exciting New Plans for 2025!
We’re thrilled that we’ll soon be announcing our plans to host regional events in the coming year. These celebrations will continue to shine a light on the fantastic work of teachers, lecturers and support staff across the UK. Watch this space for more details in the new year!
We’re Hiring!
To make these events a success, we’re looking for a Regional Events Manager at The Pearson National Teaching Awards to join our team. If you know someone who would be perfect for this role, please let us know!
Thank you so much for your support in celebrating the teaching profession
Let’s continue to recognise and champion the educators who shape the nation’s future.
We wish you all a very happy Christmas and a wonderful 2025.
The Teaching Awards Trust
