Search begins for next generation of education’s finest

Nominations open today for the 2015 TES Schools Awards

30th January 2015, 12:00am

Nominations for the TES Schools Awards 2015 open today. The event, now in its seventh year, celebrates the extraordinary commitment, quality and innovation shown by teachers and support staff across the UK.

TES would like to hear about the teachers and teams within your school who are raising the standards of education and making a positive impact on the personal and academic success of students and the wider community.

The awards have 17 categories, including primary school, secondary school, headteacher and healthy school. New accolades have been introduced in 2015 for teacher-bloggers and early years settings, in addition to an award for the most creative school.

Previous winners have described how the positive impact of being given a TES Schools Award continues to resonate for staff and students alike. Bohunt School in Liphook, Hampshire, was named secondary school of the year in 2014 and also won the coveted Overall School of the Year Award.

Neil Strowger, headteacher of Bohunt, said: “Our whole community was and is buzzing with pride at the recognition of our efforts and achievements. Education is hard to define and even harder to measure, so most people don’t even try. However, TES isn’t most people.

“What has been superb about winning the Overall School of the Year Award is the recognition that our educational philosophy - based upon the highest expectations, the widest possible opportunities and innovation as the day job - is worthy of regard and reward.

“With the recognition has come resolve and renewed vigour; not just from staff, but also our students. Now we know we’re on the right lines, [we wonder] how far we can take it and who we can take with us.”

Just three years after opening, Longdon Hall School in Staffordshire was named special needs school of the year in 2014. Headteacher Matt Storey said: “We entered the awards as we wanted to let students and staff know they’re worth the effort.

“We’re always telling the pupils they’re doing well, so to receive that external recognition and formal confirmation for all the hard work is terrific. You can’t buy that.”

Mr Storey added that the benefits were being felt by the whole community. “The award has helped to put us on the map and generated outside interest. But it’s the increase in confidence and self-esteem that’s most palpable around the school. Being named school of the year has changed the outlook of our pupils on education and we wear our title with pride,” he said.

Ann Mroz, editor of TES, said: “Each year these awards seek to recognise and applaud the best examples of both individual and team excellence across the country.

“It’s the ingenuity, dedication and pioneering spirit of teachers that underpin successful schools and make a significant impact on the lives of children.”

The TES Schools Awards are open to all state and independent primary and secondary schools in the UK. Nominations open today and the deadline for entries is 4 March 2015. This year, the winners will be announced at a ceremony at the Grosvenor House Hotel on London’s Park Lane on Friday 19 June.

For more information on the awards and how to enter, visit www.tesawards.co.uk . All entries must be via the website