Sarah Hewitt-Clarkson, the inspirational headteacher who faced down protests against LGBT-inclusive education this year, says she is “bowled over” at being named Tes person of the year.
And the news led to a tribute from Labour leadership contender Jess Phillips MP, who stated that Ms Hewitt-Clarkson “deserves to be presented as a woman of such stature”.
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Tes person of the year 2019: Sarah Hewitt-Clarkson
Ms Hewitt-Clarkson, head at Anderton Park Primary School in Birmingham, was chosen as Tes’ person of the year for leading her school to a legal victory after the primary faced protests for teaching about LGBT+ relationships.
Reacting to the news that she had been chosen, she told Tes: “I can’t believe it. I am bowled over by this and the whole school is so pleased by the news.
“I was wrapping Christmas presents up late last night when suddenly I was getting lots of things coming through congratulating me on social media. It took me a while to find a thread explaining what was happening.
Tributes to Tes person of the year Sarah Hewitt-Clarkson
“This is a recognition for the whole school and particularly for my deputy, Claire Evans. You cannot do this sort of thing on your own and she is amazing.
“Everyone at Anderton Park has an amazing strength and dignity but there have been times for all of this year where we have felt that the world is not a very nice place but you persevere and we have come through.”
Ms Evans tweeted about the news, describing her colleague as a “truly amazing” person.
Ms Evans described the award as both “poignant” and “bittersweet”, following a sometimes difficult year for the school when protests took place outside classrooms almost every day.
“We are incredibly proud in school but it’s almost no surprise to us because she’s always like this as a leader. It’s not easy to make a stand and do what’s morally right and legally correct, but she doesn’t shy away from that,” she told Tes.
“This has had an impact on individuals’ personal lives to the point we have had letters of support from New Zealand, where people have gone to that amount of personal effort
“We’ve endured nine months of this and so have our children, so it’s kind of bittersweet. It’s brilliant that the law has prevailed - we knew all along that wasn’t right, making information up about schools is incredibly damaging, but we haven’t had any choice about this.
“Sarah’s had to stand up and do this. We’re really thankful that the judge recognised there’s been a lot of false information. But our children have had to endure what no other children have had to.”
Responding to Ms Phillips, the MP for Birmingham Yardley, Ms Hewitt-Clarkson said she was “proud of us Peaky Blinders”, referring to the popular TV show set in Birmingham.
