Britain's Classroom Heroes

Well, I have to say, huge respect to teachers.

You're all absolutely fabulous.

Thank you so much for teaching our youth, preparing them for tomorrow.

All the work that you do is spectacular.

Each one of you guys are winners.

It's fantastic to be here.

It's such a great awards. So, good luck to everybody.

It's lovely that a school teachers are being awarded and admired.

It's an honour to be here in the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, London.

It just seems incredible.

It's very nerve-racking, actually, because I feel like I've got

all the school behind me and I want to do really well for the school.

Teaching is the most enjoyable, most rewarding,

most challenging profession in the world.

I'm very excited to be here.

It's back to school for me - Hogwarts -

to present this award to an outstanding primary school teacher.

And find out which outstanding music teacher

I'll be giving out this award to.

Our future lies in the hands of teachers.

I feel honoured, privileged to be able to do my tiny little bit.

'From the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane,

'join us to discover who are Britain's

'classroom heroes.

'Please welcome your host for the evening,

'Clare Balding.'

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

Good evening.

Hello.

Thank you so much and welcome to

Britain's Classroom Heroes, where tonight, we discover who has won

the prestigious 2013 Teaching Award, supported by Pearson UK.

And I'm delighted to be back again

amongst so many stars of the teaching profession

because everyone here is a classroom hero in their own way.

Helping me tonight, is the legend that is Sir Terry Wogan.

And the UK's finest ever distance runner - Mo Farah.

We're going to have a sneak peek at the Harry Potter set

and a brand-ne TV performance from another award winner,

the hit musical Matilda.

So it is a fantastic line-up

and they're ready to pay tribute to the best of our assembled

teachers and present a few of these, the famous gold Plato.

156 judges have been up and down the country

visiting schools, colleges and even nurseries,

to find those at the top of the teaching world,

and they've whittled it down to 66 finalists from

England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.

Now we will discover who will win this year's ten gold Platos

and become Britain's classroom heroes for 2013.

So, please, put down your red pens, close your homework books

and enjoy your evening,

because tonight is for you, and you all thoroughly deserve it.

And our first award is for

Headteacher of the Year in a Secondary School.

For those heroes beyond the classroom,

whose extracurricular vision, energy and passion

are often the driving force leading their schools on to great things.

To present this award, we have an inspirational woman.

She was intending to develop her passion for teaching

when her son was murdered in a brutal, racially motivated attack.

For every year of the 20 since it happened,

she has campaigned for justice, not just for her own son Stephen,

but for all victims of racist crime.

She has been hailed as a hero of modern Britain

and was recently created a life peer.

Ladies and gentlemen, Baroness Doreen Lawrence.

That is an amazing reception

and I think you can feel from them

what you mean to them, what you have done.

Now, I know that you always had a passion for education

and indeed for teaching. Tell me.

Yes, because the primary school that my children went to,

I was working there as a special needs helper

and one day I think we had like a supply teacher in,

and the kids were just throwing a riot and I walked in and said,

"Come on, behave yourselves," and the rest of it.

And the teacher said to me, "You know something? Rather than doing this,

"I think you should become a teacher yourself."

And I went back into education

and my intention was to become a primary school teacher.

And then, Stephen got killed.

Stephen died in my first year while I was studying.

Well, you're using the memory of Stephen, aren't you,

to make sure that young people get a chance to follow whatever

it is, whatever their career path might be, that they get some help,

they get some motivation, they get the right opportunities?

Well, we started off by...

Because Steve wanted to be an architect,

we started off looking at how we can help young people to become

architects. And I felt we've been really successful in that

because we've supported over 100 students

and now we have six who are qualified in this country.

And now,

as we look to move on, how do we help other young people,

and just looking at other professions, not just architecture.

And, Doreen, you have grandchildren now.

What sort of a world do you want your grandchildren to grow up in?

What I'd like to see is a world where people can actually,

well, young kids can grow up

and don't feel that they need to be mindful of who they are,

what the colour of their skin is,

but the idea is that they can be whatever they want to be

without having any stigma attached to them whatsoever.

I think the work I do is to make sure my kids can have a future.

Well, you are doing an amazing job for your grandchildren

and for the world in which all children will grow up in,

and we are so pleased,

aren't we, and proud that Doreen is here tonight with us?

And, Baroness Lawrence, could you tell us, please,

who has won our first award?

OK. I'm delighted to present the award to

a Headteacher of the Year in a Secondary School.

It goes to a man who has done much for special needs education.

From Sir Tom Finney Community High School in Preston -

Shaun Jukes.

APPLAUSE

Hi there. Welcome to Sir Tom Finney Community High School.

It might not be much on the outside,

but there's plenty going on on the inside. Come with me.

Our school came about through the amalgamation of

three distinctly different special schools

to form Sir Tom Finney Community High School.

It's a special school with 140 students

with a wide range of special educational needs

'and learning difficulties and disabilities.'

..PE. Good girl. Hello.

Shaun's appointment was rather risky

because he hadn't been a headmaster.

He wasn't acting headmaster.

The amalgamation of the schools was really an opportunity for me

to have a blank canvas to start thinking about what was the vision

and how are we going to do that with the range of learners that we had.

Some parents were naturally very, very apprehensive.

I would describe myself as the biggest nay-sayer

with reference to the merger. My son, Joseph,

was very happy at The Elms.

I probably became the parent from hell for Shaun. I continually rang.

I was very unsure that it was going to be the best thing for Joseph.

However, as results will bear testimony to,

I really couldn't have been more wrong.

Having appointed him, what we got was this

incredibly driven,

dynamic individual.

We do do traditional PE.

We try and make it as inclusive as possible.

Are you ready?

'Shaun has built a really good team at Sir Tom Finney High School.

'He creates a fairly open and relaxed atmosphere.'

I'm very grateful to Shaun

because he has seen the potential in me from day one.

Very good, Dylan. WHISTLE BLOWS

And stop there.

Performing arts is very much a big part of what we do in school.

We have it in the curriculum as drama

and we have a special performance group that works together

as part of the options in Key Stage 4 and Post-16.

MUSIC PLAYS AND ALL SING

'We also want them to enjoy themselves

'and be very happy whilst they are in school.'

I just love coming through the doors,

seeing all the staff, seeing all my mates.

Tom Finney is like one big family.

What we've done is create some very,

very stimulating sensory environments within school.

SCARY SOUND EFFECTS AND MUSIC

We put our trust in him and he has repaid us many times.

Sean is one of the most positive people that I think I have ever met.

He's got a very can-do attitude.

Nothing really seems to be a challenge to him.

Everything seems to be something to be developed.

Being judged by Ofsted as outstanding in only four years

was a huge achievement. What we want to do now

is take our good practice behind the school gates.

We want to be seen as

a centre of excellence that's recognised nationally.

Ladies and gentlemen,

our Headteacher of the Year in a Secondary School, Shaun Jukes.

Let's have a quick chat with you because I know how good you are.

Now that I've seen that film,

I am a little bit concerned you're very, very good on camera.

-Thank you. Thank you very much.

-What were your aspirations

when you first started out in special needs teaching?

What did you want to do?

I started out life as a humanities teacher

and moved into the world of special education fairly quickly.

Found myself really enjoying the young people

that we were working with. and every time I moved on,

it was because I wanted to do things my way.

And I felt that to do that, I needed to move into management

and into leadership and ultimately into headship,

where I now have a chance with a blank canvas, really.

And you are clearly very inventive,

you're very creative, you've got bags of energy.

-It's not me.

-It's not? Who was that, then?

I've got a huge, huge staff team.

This award, whilst, you know, one person comes and collects it,

it's actually down to the rest of the people in the leadership team,

it's down to the staff, the governors,

the young people themselves and their parents.

I'm just very grateful to them.

We will let you take that back to Preston on behalf of yourself

and the whole of the team. Many congratulations.

Our Headteacher of the Year in a Secondary School, Shaun Jukes.

And thank you so much to Baroness Doreen Lawrence.

Well done to you.

Now, the next award is for Teacher of the Year in a Primary School.

The best primary school teachers not only give their pupils

a lifelong love of learning but nurture and encourage them

in equal measure. And the winner of this award certainly has love,

patience and a deep passion for teaching.

So we decided to spring a special surprise and sent her

and her class on a magical day out.

Ah, home sweet home.

I'm here at the Warner Brothers studio tour, London, that

celebrates all things Harry Potter to surprise a very special teacher.

Now, she thinks she's here on a school trip

with 50 year 6 pupils.

Brave lady! She is, but she's not expecting me or this award.

I hear she has two major loves in her life -

teaching maths and high-heeled shoes.

I'd like to say this award is for her extensive footwear collection.

That would be a surprise but, in fact,

it's for her outstanding teaching.

Mind you, take a look at these heels.

LAUGHTER AND APPLAUSE

Hi. Good morning.

'I started at Devonshire Hill in 1999.'

I came for one day as a supply teacher.

Maybe they liked me! Here I am!

-How are you?

-I'm fine.

-Good.

'My passion is maths

'but I teach all of the subject in the primary curriculum.

'When I see a child who can't do something,'

I'll encourage that child.

When I see that child does it, I'll, "Whoo! Yes!"

I'll be more excited than the child.

Let's see those who got that one right. Excellent.

Give yourself a pat on the back. Very good.

'She develops a very good'

teacher-student relationship.

'The children can always go to her to talk to her about anything.

'She's like a mother figure to the students in her class.'

-Are some people not sure?

-'She's a very good teacher'

but sometimes, if anyone is naughty, she just acts strict.

'Anoria is an expert'

at marking the children's work.

Could you describe that more?

She sits with the children, so that they can completely understand

the comments that she has made, and then they make comments back.

Remember, you've got to form a picture in your head

of what is happening.

The school has over 35 different languages spoken

and a lot of the families,

they just find it a little bit difficult to help the children

with their learning, so Anoria has set up classes for the parents

to come in, so the parents can help with their homework.

If you don't like maths, put your hand up.

Good. If you love maths, put your hand up.

I call her super

Miss Simmons because she is a super lady and a super teacher.

'When I was in her lesson, I was part of the class.

She didn't make out, "Oh, this is Mummy,

""this is Daddy and this is the children."

She joined us all together and we had a lot of fun.

I learnt a lot from her that day.

'I know that these children,

'they have a future and they need people to believe in them.

'They need people to support them.'

And that's what I do.

Devonshire Hill was in special measures a few years ago

and the school is now a good school, and Anoria said that

she will not leave

until the school attains the outstanding that it deserves.

When we got to good, I was ecstatic,

because I know our children have something to look forward to.

They can be proud now to say,

"I'm a student at Devonshire Hill Primary SCHOOL."

To her, teaching is not a job, it's what she does.

She's like a blast of sunshine throughout this building and then,

after all the children are gone, then you see a very different side of her.

HIGH-ENERGY MUSIC

I'm exhausted just watching that.

I don't know where she finds the energy.

I'm here in the Great Hall at Hogwarts and behind these doors,

Anoria and her students are learning all about Harry Potter.

Stand by. Here they come!

-CHILDREN:

-Ooh!

-Hello.

Anoria! Come on over, Anoria.

-How are you, my lovely?

-All right.

OK. Everybody be quiet and listen up.

Anoria, I'm very thrilled to announce

that you are officially

Primary School Teacher of the Year.

Congratulations!

THEY ALL CHEER Yeah!

You do a job that you love but, I mean,

-what's it like to be rewarded for doing that?

-It's amazing.

-It's just like a dream come true.

-Big cheer for Miss Simmons!

CHILDREN CHEER

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

The winner of the Teacher of the Year in a Primary School,

from Devonshire Hill Primary in Tottenham, London, is...

Anoria Simmons.

Our next award is for Further Education Lecturer of the Year.

Now, further education opens up new pathways to success

for teenagers and offers adults a fresh start in the workplace.

To present this award,

a lady who is no stranger to our television screens.

She's had an incredible career, spanning over 40 years,

yet still finds time to campaign for the vulnerable, the lonely

and the abused.

Arguably, her greatest achievement was founding the charity ChildLine.

Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome, Esther Rantzen CBE.

Now I'm going to ask you first of all about ChildLine,

which, I can't believe, has been going for 27 years!

Almost exactly 27 years ago today,

50,000 attempted calls that first night.

But now, I'm happy to tell you, Clare,

we have now helped 3.2 million children.

And now, any child that rings us will get through.

You haven't stopped there -

you're helping people at the other end of the age spectrum.

Yes, well, we're putting together The Silver Line,

itt launches on November 25,

because as you get older, your life changes, maybe the kids grow up

and maybe you have to move from the place you're familiar with,

maybe you retire from your work and you can feel very alone.

So what we're hoping is that

by having regular conversations with The Silver Line,

people will be empowered to go out into the community and recognise

the fact that older people have real value, have so much to offer.

And you're standing on stage here in front of a theatre full of teachers.

Did you have a favourite teacher?

I did have the most fantastic French teacher -

Caroline - and I wasn't very good at French.

But I assume you're fluent now?

Non.

LAUGHTER

And when we had to move on, I wrote a little poem to Caroline

and illustrated it.

And do you know, she died not all that long ago

and they found that poem in her papers? She'd kept it.

So, what I say to anybody who's watching this programme,

if you love your teacher, tell them!

And Esther is now going to reveal the winner of this award.

I am delighted to present

the award to the Further Education Lecturer of the Year.

The winner, from Coleg Cambria in Wrexham, Wales,

is Marcus Thomas.

Marcus had been at Yale College,

which is now Coleg Cambria, for 16 years,

and has had a significant impact on the college and its learners.

He's had particular success with some learners

who've struggled with mainstream education.

Art and design is part of a process,

and it's important that they develop skills

through doing and making

and handling materials.

Sometimes, the process of making

is far more important

than the final outcome.

Marcus believes in people before they believe in themselves.

He brings to life the subject, he brings to life the project,

and he allow you to be a part of that.

He judges students on their individual basis,

rather than a class as a whole.

My class used to joke, we used to call Marcus a Jedi,

because Marcus would figure people out really well

and then unlock how they worked.

That's more or less even, isn't it?

Throughout my own education,

I've had a number of barriers to learning myself,

and it's identifying in the student where they're underachieving

and trying to establish how I can move them on through

or around that barrier.

If it wasn't for him, I don't think I'd be in this position.

He's sort of kept me in education, when I perhaps didn't want to stay.

Marcus somehow manages to get them to do things like knitting -

I mean, who else could get a whole load of lads knitting?

They're quite cool with that - once they've had a go,

they become quite compulsive and competitive

about the whole deal, really.

'It is absolutely essential

'that people understand the world around them,

'understand the past, the present

'and how that will impact on the future.

'We might go out to the Pontcysyllte Aqueduct,

'where we photograph, sketch, take colour swatches,

'in order that the students can bring back

'first-hand source material for their design work.'

What is it that's exciting about these images...?

'Once they realise that someone wants to buy'

something they've created, they're absolutely elated.

'We're very lucky that we have our own willow bed.

'The students use the willow'

to create a whole range

'of products and artefacts that are sold in our gallery,

'but occasionally,'

some of it doesn't get to market...

Marcus loves his work.

He's very passionate about his projects.

He produces year on year, with great results.

Over the last three years,

Marcus has achieved a 90% completion rate

and 100% pass rate.

I think that just speaks for itself.

Since leaving, my confidence has improved greatly.

I've gone on to become quite politically active

within the Labour party.

I'm now a councillor, one of the youngest in Wales,

and I think a lot of that is down to how Marcus has taught me.

I want to go to university,

which was something I never thought of before I started college.

So, I'm really grateful to him for that.

I think what makes Marcus special

is that he really is passionate about his subject

and he really cares about the learners, their journey

and where they're going to move on to,

and making a difference in their lives.

APPLAUSE

Ladies and gentlemen,

our Further Education Lecturer of the Year, Marcus Thomas!

Brilliant!

Wow - that's for you. Congratulations.

-Thank you very much.

-Fantastic.

Now, many of your students had bad experiences in mainstream education,

so, how do you get them inspired and give them the confidence

that they can make great things?

It's about getting to know them.

It's about trying to understand how they tick, how they work,

in order to give them the right direction to follow, really.

And I think most of us here are very impressed

that you got older boys knitting.

Absolutely. I had to learn to knit to teach them.

So, it's all about my development as much as theirs.

And a lot of the things that are made end up being sold,

or indeed, at the museum - aren't they on exhibition?

That's right, yes.

And the students have thoroughly engaged with that

and we're producing lots and lots of extremely good

and high-quality products now.

-Do you love it?

-Absolutely. Yes.

I think that shows, and that is why you are so successful.

Ladies and gentlemen,

the winner of Further Education Lecturer of the Year, Marcus Thomas.

Congratulations. Thank you.

And thank you so much to Esther Rantzen as well.

Now, our next award of the evening

recognises the most Outstanding School Team -

and coming from a background in sport,

I know we're nothing without the people around us.

To present this award, a true legend of the airwaves.

So famous is this man,

he's been mentioned in Yes, Prime Minister,

been a lyric in a Franz Ferdinand song,

appeared in The Vicar Of Dibley

and, for the station's 40th birthday,

was announced as Radio 2's Ultimate Icon.

I wrote to him when I was eight years old

and he played me a song on the radio and sent me a signed photograph,

so he will always be my hero.

Ladies and gentlemen,

please welcome the Togmeister himself, Sir Terry Wogan!

Thank you so much for coming this evening.

You were a very keen sportsman in your schooldays.

Yes, I was. In fact, I played rugby against your father.

-Did you?

-Yeah. He was full-back for Marlborough,

and I was humble prop for Belvedere College, Dublin,

and he could have had a very promising career -

ended up, disappointingly, training the Queen's horses.

Had to do something.

-We've actually got a photo of Terry, at school.

-Steady...

-Want to see?

-AUDIENCE: Yeah!

Nobody wants to see that. Oh, we do.

Here's the whole team. This is 1954, as you can see,

it's been written on the ball.

Crescent College, Limerick.

Now, as everyone tries to work out which one you are, we can zoom in.

-You don't look like a prop.

-Yeah. Well, I...I grew.

OK. You developed INTO a prop?

-Yeah. I mean, I'm a racing snake now.

-Obviously.

We're thrilled that you're here tonight.

So pleased to be here.

-Good luck with Children In Need.

-Thank you.

You've been doing it now for...?

Since 1980, since we started it as a big show.

And since then, we've raised...

Sorry...YOU have given us nearly £700 million.

-Wow.

-Fantastic.

Thank you.

I shall hand over to you now, Sir,

for your job and the envelope in your hand.

Here's our prizewinner.

I'm delighted, thrilled,

to present this award to the Outstanding School Team of the Year.

From Penarth, in South Wales...

AUDIENCE MEMBERS CHEER

Steady.

LAUGHTER

Steady, we're trying to build the tension.

..it's the Cogan Nursery School.

Cogan is an area of Penarth in South Wales.

We're the team from Cogan Nursery School.

We're very passionate about everything that we do.

We're very lively and, at times, completely over the top.

Yeah!

-I'm Pauline.

-She's our leader.

And great with a puppet stuck on the end of her hand.

You can't say that!

Morning...

The team are incredibly welcoming.

From the minute you walk in, you really feel part of the nursery.

They're always full of new ideas

and lots of new things to do for the children.

We often start the day with a Forest School and a Birdsong Breakfast,

when we invite the parents in with the children

to share in their child's learning.

-I'm Peter.

-Or Pirate Peter, as we know him.

Listen, Captain Lucas, will you measure for me?

Pirate Pete was introduced because the boys were underachieving,

compared to the girls,

particularly in the areas of literacy and numeracy.

One, zero and one.

We've now got the boys outperforming the girls.

Ooh-arr!

That means we need one more plank that size,

then my ship is ready to go looking for treasure.

When the children are full of awe and wonder,

they become totally engaged and they play.

-And of course, they don't know they're learning.

-I love it.

I think it really encourages the children to be creative

and spontaneous.

I really don't see teachers dressing up anywhere else.

Ah-ha-harr!

Peter is our IT king, and we are really big on technology.

We live in the 21st century and we need to give the children

the technological skills they need for them to survive.

There are QR codes on the walls -

the ones that are at one foot are for the children to scan,

and others at a four-foot level for the parents

and the staff to scan, and a lot of our educational videos can be

accessed by the children through going through our QR codes.

# Twinkle, twinkle... #

We find it really engages all our learners,

but especially children with additional learning needs.

The team are fantastic with the computers, and the children,

they just pick them up and use them so easily.

My three-year-old son can use an iPad better than I can.

We're just a state nursery, we don't get any extra funding,

but we feel that the investment is very worthwhile.

We want to engage with parents in the wider community,

so we have a YouTube channel

with some slightly quirky but educational videos.

Hello, darling! How are you?

-I'm Kaye.

-Or Korma Desmonde.

Korma is based on the old style of actress,

such as Bette Davis and Norma Desmond.

And we found here that some children respond better to a character

than to a "normal" teacher.

Action!

I'm Korma Desmonde, darling - can't you see? Can't you tell?

The educational videos were for parents to share

with their children at home,

but we also want to share them with a wider audience, too.

Cut.

So, next week is Eid...

Everybody works together - we plan together, evaluate lessons together.

Everybody knows what each other is doing.

We have a really strong team at Cogan Nursery School.

It has been suggested that, if we win,

we're going to get tattoos of Plato.

-Who suggested that?

-Well, I'm up for it!

-LAUGHING:

-I bet you are!

Ladies and gentlemen, our Outstanding School Team,

Cogan Nursery School!

APPLAUSE

Congratulations.

Thank you.

-So, is it fair to say that Pauline is team captain?

-ALL: Yes.

Right - you're nominated, team captain Pauline.

How much does it mean to you and the whole team to win this?

Oh, we're just ecstatic.

Rydym ni ar ben y byd. We're on top of the world.

I think I can speak for all of us.

And you look excited, and I know how excited your pupils are going to be.

They will be, very, very excited. And their parents as well.

-Now, you're Kaye, aren't you?

-Yes, I'm Kaye.

Kaye's the one who rashly promised that if they won this award,

they would all have tattoos.

-It's just me.

-Is it?

-I'll be having it.

-What will you be having?

-Plato.

-Oh, right!

-Where?

-Ah...

LAUGHTER

Um, somewhere hidden, but somewhere some people might be able to see it.

I think that a wealth of opportunities awaits.

Huge congratulations to our Outstanding School Team,

Cogan Nursery School - well done.

And thank you to Sir Terry Wogan.

Thank you.

CONVERSATION DROWNED OUT BY APPLAUSE

Now, the next award is for Outstanding New Teacher of the Year.

Starting out in your career,

whatever your choice of work, is never easy.

But to be confronted by 30 eagle-eyed teenagers

on your first day is most people's idea of a nightmare.

These new teachers are often the lifeblood of their schools,

injecting vital enthusiasm and passion.

We decided there was only one man who could give this award,

only one man who could match our winner's stamina and drive.

A man who is officially the best distance runner

Britain has ever seen.

Yes - it's Mo Farah CBE.

Now, Mo's PE teacher, Alan Watkinson,

had such a huge impact on his life,

that he became his best friend and even his best man.

Because of this extraordinary bond,

we sent both of them to surprise our winner.

Hi. I'm Mo, and this is Alan.

And today, we're here to give a special award to a special teacher.

So, that's for me, for looking after you all those years ago?

-Not quite, no.

-Maybe you've got a medal in your pocket I could have?

Maybe one of my medals. Maybe European medal?

That would definitely do.

We're actually here to make this award

to the Outstanding New Teacher of 2013.

Let's see what makes him so special.

-Wave to the camera.

-Hello!

Holy Cross is the only Catholic high school in Chorley.

We are a specialist science

and sports college,

and when we interviewed Sean, luckily for him,

his degree was based in science, or sports science,

so that fit nicely with the ethos of our school.

I've always wanted to be a teacher.

Before this, I worked in physiology, did some health work,

gave me some really valuable

'life skills which I try to apply to the profession.'

Good. Excellent...

Sean, whilst only having three years' experience,

really does show the true professionalism of somebody

who's been in the classroom for many, many years.

And there it is, there.

Your challenge today is to go inside of a heart,

dissect a heart, carefully...

He's more like a friend.

And his lessons are always very interesting, so...

He's changed my opinion on science and now it's my favourite subject.

Mr Hardeley's style of teaching is absolutely fantastic.

He develops a great sense of humour within the class,

but at the same time, still manages to teach us

and bring us out with fantastic grades.

He lets the children discover for themselves.

When they ask him, "What is the answer, sir?"

"So, what do you think? Will you find out?"

And that discovery has actually made them thirsty for more.

I was diagnosed with dyslexia at 14.

'I was very, very lucky in that the teachers I was with gave me

'an awful lot of extra support and really just helped me

'structure my learning.

'I try and help those who also suffer from dyslexia

'and other special educational needs, cos I do know how they feel

'and there's no reason why'

they can't do the tasks.

They just need that little bit of extra help, guidance, now and again.

I'm just going to check the camera's running.

-Can you see a green light flashing?

-Yeah.

'Through the STEM Club -

'Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths -

'we launched a weather balloon,

'which went high into the atmosphere.'

We did it in conjunction with the Met Office

and Manchester University.

It was really fantastic. Everyone was there to see it go up.

We were all hanging out the windows, watching.

It was such a great opportunity for Mr Hardeley,

as well as the STEM Club that did it.

The aim was to capture the edge of the atmosphere

and the curvature of the Earth.

The chance of it working was slim, very slim, but it atually worked.

We found it over 110 miles away, over in Loughborough.

Sean's leadership of the STEM Club has inspired our pupils.

They no longer see science as dull and a bit dry.

It's enthusiastic, it's cutting edge,

it's absolutely, 100%

about the practical and the fun aspect of science.

-SCREAMS AND EXCLAMATIONS

-He's passionate about his subject.

He's clever, he's very knowledgeable.

He's a great sportsman - in fact, he teaches all the rugby here.

-He's a great rugby player himself.

-Get your foot in. Pick him up!

I'm truly honoured to have Sean on my team.

He is without a doubt one of the most outstanding teachers I've ever seen.

There will be pupils at this school

who'll look back when they work at NASA,

or are studying Physics at whatever university

and say, "I'm here because of Mr Hardeley."

And that's why Sean Hardeley is Outstanding New Teacher 2013.

He's through there on a school trip now.

-Let's go and surprise him, Mo.

-Let's do it.

-Right.

-Number nine.

-Number nine.

-Van Persie.

-Van Persie.

Excuse me...

-Hello there. I've got a question for you.

-Hi.

-Why are we here?

-Uh...I think because of the Teaching Awards.

Sean, you are Outstanding New Teacher 2013. Congratulations.

Thank you so much. Thank you.

Thank you so much, thank you to the children, past and present,

and to the school, really, to Holy Cross

for all their help and support. Thank you.

Thank you very, very much. That's amazing, that's absolutely amazing.

The winner of the Outstanding New Teacher of the Year - Sean Hardeley.

Now, the next Plato is for Teacher of the Year in a Secondary School

and these are some of the toughest years for youngsters,

with a host of often life-changing decisions to make.

These teachers are the ones who set them up for life

and help them along the way.

To present this award, a journalist

and presenter who we've been waking up with for the last 15 years.

She's brightened up our breakfast with a winning mix of serious

news stories and cosy showbiz chats with the likes of Tom Cruise,

Johnny Depp and Julia Roberts.

Please welcome Kate Garraway.

APPLAUSE

-Quite heavy.

-They're very heavy.

-Very heavy.

Now your mother and your brother were both in teaching.

Yes, so we've got grandmother, two great aunts,

two aunts and an uncle,

brother, mother, brother-in-law and sister-in-law.

In fact, it's just my dad and me that aren't teachers.

So we're always in detention, my dad and I, basically.

-We're always in trouble.

-Did you ever think about it?

Yes, I did want to be a teacher,

I just got a bit distracted along the way and now I find

when I go into classrooms, I don't think I could do it.

I just think they are brilliant broadcasters, actually, teachers.

I think they speak brilliantly and entertain brilliantly and often

their audience, their viewers, don't always appreciate it at the time.

So I think it's brilliant that we've got these awards tonight.

To be fair to you, and I know teachers work really long hours,

but how many of us ever set our alarms on a regular basis

at 2.30 in the morning?

I know. They're all out still partying, aren't they?

Lovely to have you here.

Thank you. I need to go to bed!

Exactly! I'm a little bit concerned for your sleep.

-Would you like to do the honours?

-Yes, OK, so here we go.

I'm very excited to present the award to the Teacher of the Year

in a Secondary School.

And the winner from Tavistock College in Devon...

They're very happy. ..is Crispin Chambers.

People might be surprised that Tavistock,

a small rural town in Devon,

has such strong links with Japan,

on the other side of the world.

But it has all come through the teaching of Japanese

and that's all down to Crispin.

It all started back in 1996, when the principal of Tavistock College

decided to apply for specialist language college status.

He needed Japanese as a non-European language,

and the timing couldn't have better.

I wanted to teach Japanese and I'd just qualified.

Nobody gave us a chance to start off with,

teaching classes of 30 a brand-new language using a hard script.

Everyone thought that after two years it would be gone

but in fact the students loved it, they loved everything about it.

I think it is just infectious.

His love of the subject,

all things Japanese, does spread

and everyone gets caught up in it and I think that's his magic.

His lessons are very scenario-based

so I've never even seen a Japanese text book. He doesn't use them.

He teaches completely from his life experience and his expertise

and puts the language across that way.

We make sure everyone's engaged using a variety of techniques,

such as flash cards and interactive learning, role play,

and it doesn't always feel like a lesson cos you're having fun.

So you're all on the "a" sound...

'We've had huge success with Japanese at Tavistock College.'

In 2005 the numbers peaked at 1,200

and now students look at their timetables

and they expect to be seeing Japanese just like any other subject.

Ichi-ne-san.

Family...library... winter...yesterday.

-Was it north?

-South.

South. OK.

He loves introducing people to Japan.

It's not just in the classroom that Crispin makes the difference,

he's provided children with

a unique and fantastic opportunity to travel to Japan.

I know teachers take children on trips

but how many take them to the other side of the world?

These students stay with Japanese families,

they live the lives of the Japanese.

'It's hard to put into words what it can do to you at the age of 15,

'going to Japan, and most students come back saying

'that they've had a really life-changing experience.'

How's that so far?

Now we're going to have an audience with the Japanese ambassador himself.

Just want to welcome Mr Chambers

and all of the students from Tavistock College to my embassy.

Altogether, how many students have you taught?

I'm one of the very few teachers in the UK that have taught

not hundreds but thousands.

Really?

You're all lucky

to have such a wonderful teacher.

THEY ALL SPEAK JAPANESE

APPLAUSE AND CHEERING

Ladies and gentlemen,

our Teacher of the Year in a Secondary School, Crispin Chambers.

DROWNED OUT BY APPLAUSE

I'm going to do this to you first.

-I should do this to you as well.

-Yes.

-Thank you.

Bearing in mind that I am a Japanese teacher,

and the fact there are so many of my supporters here,

and I'm delighted to be able to...

CHEERING

I'm truly delighted to be able to share this special moment with you.

HE SPEAKS JAPANESE

THEY SPEAK JAPANESE

HE SPEAKS JAPANESE

LAUGHTER

Very good.

I know that you say that students who struggle with other subjects

-sometimes find Japanese is the thing that really suits them.

-Why is that?

I think it's because Japanese has a very strong visual impact,

so those students that like art, they are really good at Japanese

and also it must be one of the most simple languages to study,

from a grammatical point of view.

So, boys who like maths or science will normally be good at Japanese.

Also students who have dyslexia. Dyslexia doesn't show up in Japanese.

So, those students as well with various learning disabilities

also succeed in Japanese.

You're clearly doing a brilliant job,

and you are evangelical about Japanese.

Well, I should say, for me it's just er...

It's my passion, and to be able to share the Japanese language

and the Japanese culture, for me that's...

I couldn't ask for anything more than that.

What's congratulations in Japanese?

-Omedetogozaimasu.

-Omedetogozaimasu.

Ladies and gentlemen, our Teacher of the Year in a Secondary School,

Crispin Chambers. And thank you to Kate Garraway.

Well, we're almost at the end of tonight's show.

There's just one more award, it is the big one -

it's Lifetime Achievement.

But before that, we have a treat in store.

An amazing performance from the award-winning

Royal Shakespeare production of Matilda The Musical.

It tells the story of a gifted child with woefully inadequate parents.

Worse still, her horrible headmistress - and she really is,

I've seen this - is intent on terrorising all her pupils.

Not like any of our award-winners tonight.

We pick up the story when Matilda faces up to her miserable lot

and decides that enough is enough.

So, for the first time on television,

here to sing the song Quiet from the musical Matilda,

please welcome one of the four amazingly talented girls

who share the lead. Ladies and gentlemen, Elise Blake.

# Have you ever wondered, well I have

# About how when I say, say red, for example

# There's no way of knowing if red

# Means the same thing in your head

# As red means in my head

# When someone says red?

# And how if we are travelling at almost the speed of light

# And we're holding a light

# That light will still travel away from us

# At the full speed of light, which seems right in a way

# But I'm trying to say, I'm not sure

# But I wonder if inside my head

# I'm not just a bit different from some of my friends

# These answers that come into my mind unbidden

# These stories delivered to me fully written!

# And when everyone shouts like they seem to like shouting

# The noise in my head is incredibly loud

# And I just wish they'd stop, my dad and my mum

# And the telly and stories would stop just for once

# And I'm sorry

# I'm not quite explaining it right

# But this noise becomes anger and the anger is light

# And its burning inside me would usually fade

# But it isn't today

# And the heat and the shouting

# And my heart is pounding

# And my eyes are burning

# And suddenly everything, everything is...

# Quiet

# Like silence, but not really silent

# Just that still sort of quiet

# Like the sound of a page being turned in a book

# Or a pause in a walk in the woods

# Quiet

# Like silence, but not really silent

# Just that nice kind of quiet

# Like the sound when you lie upside down in your bed

# Just the sound of your heart in your head

# And though the people around me

# Their mouths are still moving

# The words they are forming

# Cannot reach me any more

# And it is quiet

# And I am warm

# Like I've sailed

# Into the eye of the storm. #

APPLAUSE

Wasn't that just amazing? Amazing.

She's just nine years old.

That was just stunning, really stunning, Elise. Thank you so much.

Brilliant job, thank you.

And now to our final Plato of the evening.

Lifetime Achievement awarded to the person who has devoted

a lifetime to nurturing, developing and encouraging young talent,

not only in their students but their colleagues as well.

And to present this award,

a man who has devoted his lifetime to making us laugh.

Alongside his comedic partner, they had one of the most successful

and long-running light entertainment shows on British television.

And he's still unrivalled in the art of the shaggy dog story.

Recently he's been into shaggy dogs of a different kind

with Ronnie's Animal Crackers on BBC One.

So, please welcome Ronnie Corbett, CBE.

Thank you very much.

-This theatre, Ronnie...

-This theatre has brought, well...

..serious memories back for me,

cos I was here in 1963

in a musical with Bob Monkhouse, Denis Quilley,

Maggie Fitzgibbon,

and on the strength of being booked in to Drury Lane

for a musical, I bought a house in New Cross

and unfortunately Boys From Syracuse only lasted six weeks, so...

So, I had to sell the house. No, I didn't.

There are probably teachers here who know that

if they had you in their class there would be trouble.

-A naughty schoolboy.

-Were you trouble?

-No, I was not.

-I was a very good little boy.

-Were you?

Yes, yes, behaved myself thoroughly well.

And did you get a clue then at school that you would become

a performer?

No, I didn't get a clue about my performing abilities

until the church youth club in Edinburgh

when we put on a Christmas show and I suddenly felt comfortable,

and I thought, "This is it," and I went

and did my national service

and kept that in the back of my mind for the whole time, really.

Well, I think we're all rather delighted that Ronnie Corbett

is here performing on this stage for our delight. So, would you...

Well, our delight, I don't know if it's their delight.

-So, Ronnie, would you like to tell us, please, who the winner is?

-Yes.

Certainly. I'm thrilled to present this award for Lifetime Achievement.

And the winner from Aileymill Primary School in Greenock, Scotland,

is Isabel Lind.

I was born in Greenock.

I'm a very, very proud Greenockian.

I've taught in Greenock for most of my career.

Isabel was definitely born to be a teacher.

She wanted to be a teacher

when she was a child

and she fulfilled her ambition.

On the day I proposed to Isabel she said two things.

One, we'll never have children,

and two, the kids in the school always come first.

And er, I said, "Well, that's fine."

Things are hard here in Inverclyde.

There is deprivation and you would see that, anyone can see

when they come round and about.

We've got to remember what a beautiful part of the world

that we live in.

So, I always emphasise that to the children, that I'm wanting them

to have the best experience when they're in school.

One of the things which I brought was that

I wanted folk to work together.

25 years ago, when Isabel brought these two totally different

religious schools together it was a huge, huge thing.

When I became head teacher of St Gabriel's in 1989 I met Isabel,

she was one of the first people to come and congratulate me,

and I thought, "This is a woman after my own heart.

"I'm going to get on fine with her."

Isabel, and I think the children as well, had suggested,

"Why do we have to go to Larkfield and Springfield School

"when we've got a school next door," which was a Catholic school.

I think Isabel was the driving force in bringing the schools together,

and we all worked very hard at it

and it certainly made a difference to the community.

Especially in the West of Scotland when sectarianism was such a...

such a blight on the community.

It was a really huge thing.

She has changed the tenor of life in this community

over the last 25 years truly beyond recognition.

Enthusiasm's a great weapon.

It took me quite a while to realise that that was a gift that I had.

I could pass on enthusiasm.

I'm not good at anything, but I am enthusiastic about lots

and lots of things, and that passes on to the children.

For Isabel the expressive arts are a channel for success

and increased self-esteem for children whose cultural lives

might be quite narrow.

It gives them the opportunity to participate, to have success

and to have a sense of their own self-worth.

'I like to think I'm my own person,

'and that's one of the things that I pass onto children.

'Don't be afraid to be different, don't be led by the crowd.'

A key part of Isobel's individuality is without a shadow of a doubt

her dress sense.

There's my shoes, high heels...

'I totally believe that I have gained more from the children

'that I've taught, and from their parents over all the years.'

I've learned so much from all of them

and if I can have given them something back, I'm pleased.

But there's no doubt in my mind that I've gained much more from them.

You felt like you wanted to please your parents and Mrs Lind.

It wasn't...

Even from a young age, you could tell how dedicated

she was to the profession.

It was her life.

Ravenscraig Primary was her life.

And even when we were young, we knew that - the time

and the effort that she put in was absolutely unreal.

To be given the OBE in 2006, I was totally overwhelmed,

or as they say in the Scots, sair hauden.

I was really proud.

Very proud of her, and I think she deserved it.

Isabel doesn't do this for awards or for fame.

She does it for the children.

That's what it's all about at the end of the day.

She has guided the lives of what must now be thousands of children.

If there was anybody who ever should get a lifetime achievement award,

it's Isabel Lind.

She pulls people along in the wake of her enthusiasm.

The children, the staff, and other people that work with her.

Thank you, Mrs Lind!

Please welcome to the stage our Lifetime Achievement winner -

Isabel Lind!

Had a little hint of these shoes in the film.

And fancy Ronnie not quite matching,

but at least tartan trews as well.

-I'm not matching but I've done my best.

-They're lovely.

-Are they all right?

-Agony.

-Are they?

LAUGHTER

I sort of thought they might be.

Now, can I ask you, what would you rank as your proudest achievement

in your career so far?

Linking the two schools together, Ravenscraig and Earnhill

and making Aileymill such a special school, together as one.

And I would imagine that despite the fact you're receiving

a Lifetime Achievement award,

which I'm sure Ronnie's received,

and you always think, "Oh, no, panic, am I meant to retire now?"

-I'm sure you're not ready to retire, are you yet?

-Not quite yet.

No, my husband doesn't want me to retire.

-Why is that?

-He doesn't want me in the house.

And when you go back to school tomorrow or the day after,

and you take this in, what do you think, Isabel, the reaction will be?

Well, we'll all be very, very excited,

there's no two doubts about that.

And you must've had pupils come through your schools

who have touched you,

who you remember above all others and things that they've said

or things they've gone on to achieve, that you think,

"Gosh, that makes it so worth it," all the hard work you put in.

That happens to me every day. The children are the special folks.

That's the great joy of teaching

and that's why all the people here enjoy it so much.

We're given that great privilege of touching people's lives.

Well, you are the one who is taking home the Lifetime Achievement award.

Many, many congratulations.

Our winner of our final award tonight - Isobel Lind,

and many thanks as well to Ronnie Corbett.

-Well done!

-Thank you very much.

CONVERSATION DROWNED OUT BY APPLAUSE

And that brings to an end this year's Teaching Awards,

supported by Pearson.

Britain has crowned its classroom heroes of 2013.

Congratulations to all of our winners,

and to the teachers, the head teachers,

the teaching assistants in the audience tonight,

and the thousands of others watching at home.

Thank you for your imagination, your professionalism and your hard work.

If you know a teacher without whom your school or college

just wouldn't be as good, you can nominate them for next year's awards

and you can do that right now.

All you have to do is go to teachingawards.com

and say thank you.

We'll be back next year

with more gold Platos for the best

of the teaching profession for 2014, more heroes of the classroom

who use their talents to bring out the talents in the rest of us.

So until next year, thank you and good night.

'Other awards presented tonight...'

The winner of the award for Headteacher in a Primary School,

from St Philip Evans Roman Catholic Primary School in Cardiff,

is Catherine Power.

I think it's the headteacher's role to try and gather

all that enthusiasm and bring the people together

and put the child at the centre of everything that we do.

I am thrilled to be here this evening to present the award

for the Outstanding use of Technology.

And the winner is from Uxbridge High School - Jonathon Churchill.

Congratulations.

Computers and technology is a great way to get them engaged

straight away as they come through the door.

The Teaching Assistant of the Year,

from Maltings Academy in Witham, Essex,

is Clare Baldwin.

Not Clare Balding, Clare BALDWIN.

So, how chuffed are you right now?

-I can't believe it.

-Are you surprised?

I'm amazed. I'm overwhelmed. I can't believe it.

Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd