Skip to main content

Arts & textile teacher from poor UK school emerges as "World Best Teacher"


OREDOLA ADEOLA

A North London teacher, Andria Zafirakou,has emerged as the first British winner of a prize for the World’s Best Teacher held in Dubai on Sunday night. She went home with $1million (£720,000) being the prize money for the award.



The fourth edition of the award night which recognizes outstanding pedagogical achievements, was organised by the Varkey Foundation, an international foundation for educational development. It debut in 2015 to give the teaching profession more recognition.

The British teacher emerged out of ten finalists, who were drawn out of about 30,000 nominations selected from 173 countries.

Andria Zafirakou, an arts and textiles teacher from Alperton community school in Brent, North London, a poor neighborhood with many migrants. She learned basic phrases in 35 languages out of 130 languages spoken in the school.

She effectively uses this medium of communication to address both her students and their parents.

As a prize winner, she is expected to continue working as a teacher for at least five years. She will be paid the prize money in instalments, over a period of paid for ten years.

Speaking shortly after the award, she described how the arts subject helps students to communicate effectively.

According to her arts help to give so much confidence and create incredible young people. She called for support for arts programs.

The event was attended by Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, ruler of Dubai, former US Vice President, Al Gore, former UK PM Tony Blair, while the Olympic champion Mo Farah and Formula One driver Lewis Hamilton, also presented a trophy at the ceremony and US singer and actress Jennifer Hudson also performed at the “Oscars-style awards ceremony” for teachers.

The United Kingdom Prime Minister Theresa May sent a video message congratulating her during the award session. In the video PM disclosed that great teachers needed “resilience, ingenuity and a generous heart”.

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Rosatom's TVEL, AllWeld Nuclear, industrial agree to cooperate nuclear backend area

Allen Atwiine, Uganda  The TVEL JSC, Managing Company of Rosatom's Fuel Division, and AllWeld Nuclear and Industrial, a South African firm, have signed a Memorandum of Cooperation which is focused on decommissioning and radioactive waste (RW) management at nuclear facilities in South Africa. The memorandum was signed by the party during the African Energy Week (AEW) 2024 in Cape Town on Tuesday.  The Editorials gathered that the Memoradium outlined a framework for cooperation and the implementation of joint initiatives.  Our correspondent gathered that the document was signed by Eduard Nikitin, Director for Decommissioning and RW Management at TVEL JSC, and Mervyn Fischer, CEO of AllWeld Nuclear and Industrial. Nikitin explained that the memorandum outlined plans for collaborative efforts in scientific, technical, and commercial activities related to the decommissioning of nuclear power plants and other facilities that pose nuclear and radiation hazards. He said, "The key...

Wikimedia Nigeria Foundation honours Folorunsho Coker, Kayode Akintemi

Oredola Adeola Wikimedia Nigeria Foundation has honoured Mr. Folorunsho Coker, Director-General of National Tourism Development Commission (NTDC) and Kayode Akintemi, Managing Director, Plus TV Africa, with Distinguished Personality Award for their contributions to the growth and development of open knowledge in Nigeria. The award ceremony was held at the Plus TV Africa studio in Victoria Island, Lagos at the weekend. Mr. Olaniyan Olushola, President, Wikimedia Nigeria Foundation Inc., while congratulating the award recipients, encouraged them to continue to promote open knowledge in Nigeria. The NTDC boss, according to Wikimedia, is a dominant force in the promotion of diversity in the Nigeria tourism sector and open knowledge in the country, adding that the NTDC under Coker has been supporting Wikimedia outreach programs (Wiki Loves Monuments, Wiki loves Earths). Olushola said, “Through the support of NTDC, professional photographers working with Wikimedia have received limitl...

President Buhari urges Nigerians to make right choices by reelecting him

Oredola Adeola | President Muhammadu Buhari in televised broadcast  on Thursday  prior to the Saturday February 16, 2019 Presidential election has urged Nigerians to allow his administration continue with the infrastructural and economic growth that the country has enjoyed under his government. According to him the choice that now confronts Nigerians is whether they want to continue with real infrastructure development, which is the road to prosperity and jobs or return to the era of ‘stomach infrastructure’. The statement reads in part: On Saturday, February 16, 2019, you will, once again, be called upon to choose the leaders who will pilot the affairs of our great nation for the next four years. This is a constitutional right which should be freely exercised by all eligible voters. 2. I wish therefore to start by assuring all Nigerians that this Government will do its very best to ensure that the 2019 elections take place in a secure and peaceful atmosphere. ...