CELEBRATIONS were in order when a number of Solihull teachers were handed top prizes at the Pearson National Teaching Awards.
The event was hosted by Gaby Roslin and guests included the Education Secretary, Bridget Phillipson MP.
Marc O’Malley, acting principal at Cockshut Hill School and Claire Pilkington, the assistant to the principal and executive team went along to the ceremony, along with Alex Hughes, principal at Ninestiles, an Academy, Natalie Hagan, Angus Weir and Sharfa Chohan.
Two staff members from Cockshut Hill School and one from Ninestiles had already received Silver Awards and travelled to the ceremony to see if they struck Gold.
Jason Bridges, the headteacher at Cockshut Hill School was honoured with a Silver Award in The Award for Teacher of the Year in a Secondary School for their outstanding commitment to changing the lives of the children they work with every day.
ason Bridges became Principal of Cockshut Hill in 2016 – returning to a place with strong personal ties, as the school his own mother attended.
Then, the school was just out of special measures, but Jason’s infectious determination to ensure Cockshut Hill lived up to its motto of #NothingButTheBest and a leadership style heralded the start of a hugely positive journey – culminating in an Ofsted Good last year.
The Pearson National Teaching Awards were founded in 1998 by Lord Puttnam to recognise the life-changing impact an inspirational headteacher, like Jason, can have on the lives of the young people they work with.
Another staff member from Cockshut Hill, Natalie Hagan, assistant principal for teaching and learning also received a Silver Award in the Digital Innovator category.
The award recognises those standout individuals who lead the way by using digital technologies creatively within their education communities to improve teaching and learning outcomes.
Natalie received the award due to her pioneering excellence in using IT to improve processes and procedures across Summit Learning Trust, and for increasing wellbeing via the use of technology in the classroom.
Over at Ninestiles, Sharfa Chohan, a teaching assistant received a Silver Award in the Teaching Assistant of the Year category.
Natalie who has only been in the role for just over a year has played a key part in welcoming the current Year 7 group and helped to improve communication and connection with local parents.
Vince Green, chief executive of Summit Learning Trust said: “It’s fantastic to see several Summit schools represented at the Pearson National Teaching Awards. This is a testament to the dedication of our staff members to improving the lives of the young people and the communities we serve. I extend our congratulations to all those who received awards during this wonderful evening.”