Three UK teachers have made it on to the longlist for a major international prize worth $1m (£670,000).
Colin Hegarty of Preston Manor school in Wembley, north-west London, Janet Hayward of Cadoxton primary school in Barry, Vale of Glamorgan, and Sean Bellamy of Sands school in Ashburton, Devon, are in the running to win the second annual Varkey Foundation global teacher prize.
Entries for the award, which aims to recognise an individual who has made an outstanding contribution to teaching, have been whittled down to a final 50 from 8,000 nominations and applications from 148 countries. In total, the longlist contains candidates from 29 nations.
Maths teacher Hegarty took a job in accounting after gaining a first class degree in the subject from Oxford, but then quit and took a £40,000 pay cut to go into teaching.
Hayward is headteacher of a primary school in a disadvantaged area of Cardiff and is known for her enthusiasm in inspiring pupils to learn in new ways, especially young boys who can be turned off by traditional teaching methods.
One of her schools was among the early users of Wi-Fi in the classroom, and won a national technology award – the Becta ICTschool of the year, while her current primary is a test case for solar powered computers.
Since 2012, Hayward has chaired the National Digital Learning Council, set up to look at the way forward for digital classrooms in Wales.
Bellamy opened his own school in 1987, run on the principles of “democratic education”. With 14 teenagers attending at the start, the rules were decided collectively, there was no uniform, staff were all paid the same and everyone used first names. In the last 28 years, around 600 students have passed through the school.
The South Korean ministry of education has asked Bellamy for advice on how to educate youngsters in ways that are more mentally healthy and he also is now working with a professor at Seoul University on establishing research into democratic schooling and emotional intelligence.
Sunny Varkey, founder of the Varkey Foundation, said: “We were overwhelmed by the huge support the global teacher prize received in its first year. We intend to keep this momentum going as our journey continues to return teachers to their rightful position as one of the most respected professions in society.
“The thousands of nominations and applications we received from every corner of the planet is testimony to the achievements of teachers and the enormous impact they have on all of our lives.”
The final 10 shortlisted for the prize will be revealed in February, with the winner announced at the Global Education and Skills Forum in Dubai, in March.
The winner will receive $1m US dollars paid over 10 years, and will be asked to serve as a global ambassador for the Varkey Foundation, attending events and speaking about their work. But they will also be required to remain working as a classroom teacher for at least five years as a condition of winning the award.
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