London teacher shortlisted for $1m prize

A London maths teacher has been shortlisted for the second annual Varkey Foundation global teacher prize, which recognises outstanding contributions to the teaching profession.

Colin Hegarty, who works at Preston Manor school in Wembley, north-west London, has made it to the final shortlist of 10 for the $1 million award.

Hegarty, 34, became a teacher six years ago following a career as an accountant and has created over 1,000 online videos to help explain maths to secondary school pupils. The videos are feely available for anyone to use and have amassed around six million views collectively.

Hegarty is currently on a sabbatical to develop a dedicated website for his videos, and has said that if he wins the prize he will invest the money into his site.

Sunny Varkey, founder of the Varkey Foundation, said: “I want to congratulate Colin Hegarty for being selected as a top 10 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 every day.”