Pupils are being invited to get creative to thank their “amazing teachers” in a national campaign backed by a host of celebrities.
Blue Peter‘s Adam Beales has launched the drive for a show of gratitude, which will culminate with national Thank a Teacher Day on 23 June. Led by The Teaching Awards Trust, pupils and their families will come together to send messages of thanks to teachers.
Celebrity baker Nadiya Hussain will judge a baking competition for the finest cookies, while Gruffalo illustrator Axel Scheffler will be choosing his favourite drawings to praise teachers.
And the author Sir Michael Morpurgo will judge the best poetry submissions.
WATCH: Students send thank you messages to their classroom heroes:
Pupils urged to take part in Thank a Teacher Day
Children will be encouraged to “let their creativity flow” and thank their teachers for their work over the past year, with songs, poems and pictures, using the hashtags #ThankATeacherDay and #HowWillYouSayThankYou to join the campaign.
Children will also be encouraged to wear something “sparkly” for the celebration of the “Stars” theme for the day.
The messages will be shared across the country on Thank a Teacher Day on Wednesday 23 June.
Mary Palmer, chief executive of The Teaching Awards Trust, said: “We’re so excited by the plans for Thank a Teacher Day this year and can’t wait to see all the brilliant thank-you videos come flooding in.
“We’ve got some fantastic celebrity judges who are really looking forward to judging their competitions and seeing how creative children across the country can be in thanking their school heroes.
“We’ve had thousands of thank-you messages come in over the course of the year and we know how much these mean to our fantastic teachers and school support staff. It’s great to see so much support for our school staff across the country, and I’d encourage everyone to get involved with an absolutely brilliant cause.”
Sir Michael Morpurgo, celebrated author and former children’s laureate, and president of The Teaching Awards Trust, said: “So often and for so many of us, it is a teacher who changed our lives, was at our side through hard and difficult times, who lifted us up when we were down, helped us find our voice, gave us confidence when we needed it most, set us on a path that we have followed ever since.”