Four UK teachers shortlisted for $1m Global Teacher Prize

Four teachers from the UK have been shortlisted for the Varkey Foundation Global Teacher Prize 2017, which offers an award of $1 million to the winning teacher.

2017 will mark the third year of the Global Teacher Prize, which 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.

Over 20,000 entries from 179 countries have been whittled down to the shortlist of 50 and this year the UK has more teachers on the shortlist than any country apart from the US, which has five. The final ten candidates will be announced in February 2017, with the winner to be announced at the Global Education and Skills Forum in Dubai on 19 March.

The four UK teachers to make the shortlist are: Adnan Mahmood, a business and enterprise tutor at Barking and Dagenham College, Essex; Nathan Atkinson, headteacher at Richmond Hill Primary School, Leeds; Peter Ferris, a drama teacher from Mercy College, Belfast; and Raymond Chambers, a computer science teacher from Brooke Weston Academy in Corby, Northamptonshire.

Speaking of the Global Teacher Prize 2017, 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 recognises 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.”