Selected from thousands of nominations, Helen is one of just 65 winners who will be celebrated today on 22  June - ‘Thank A Teacher Day’, as the national Teaching Awards marks its 20^th year of celebrating excellence in education.  Celebrations will take place in schools and colleges across England, Wales and Northern Ireland as the prestigious Silver Pearson Teaching Awards trophies are presented to outstanding teachers, teaching assistants, head teachers and lecturers.

The Pearson Teaching Awards are an annual celebration of exceptional teachers, founded in 1998 by Lord Puttnam to recognise the life-changing impact an inspirational teacher can have on the lives of the young people they teach.

Helen will now join fellow Silver Award winners, along with 3 Scottish Education Award winners and 3 winners of the Professional Teaching Awards Cymru, at the 20th UK Ceremony of the Pearson Teaching Awards, a glittering ceremony held in central London on 21 October.  There they will find out which of them has won one of just 12 Gold Plato Awards, the UK’s “Oscars for Teachers”.

The October ceremony, titled “Britain’s Classroom Heroes”, will be filmed and broadcast by the BBC as a showcase of excellence in education.  Previous award presenters have included former prime ministers David Cameron and Tony Blair, acting legends Jenny Agutter, Alison Steadman and Sheila Hancock and sports and TV personalities including Shirley Ballas, Helen Glover, Brendan Cole and Nadiya Hussain.  

On this special, celebratory day, the Teaching Awards is encouraging members of the public to say “thank you” to a teacher who has made a difference in their lives.  Simply go to http://www.teachingawards.com/card, fill in a form online including a personal message and the teacher will receive a Thank You card in the post for free.

Michael Morpurgo, celebrated author and former Children’s laureate, and President of the Teaching Awards Trust, said: “The best we can do is to pass on to children all that we know and love and mean every word.  I think above all else, a teacher should be a friend, and that’s not an easy thing to do when there are 35 children out there.  With these awards we are shining a light on these inspirational individuals whose efforts and commitment so often go uncelebrated.”

Rod Bristow, President of Pearson UK, said: "A huge congratulations to all those receiving a silver trophy today.  They should feel extremely proud of their achievements and join an inspirational group of Teaching Award winners from the past two decades.  It’s an honour for Pearson to support these Awards each year - it’s so vital to recognise and celebrate those in the teaching profession, for their commitment to education and for the impact they have on young people's lives.“