Gower College Swansea honoured in national celebration of teaching

Performing Arts Team at Gower College Swansea wins a Silver Teaching Award in the 2018 national Pearson Teaching Awards

Selected from thousands of nominations, the Performing Arts team is one of just 65 winners who celebrated on Friday 22 June - Thank A Teacher Day - as the national Teaching Awards marks its 20th year of celebrating excellence in education.

The Pearson Teaching Awards are an annual celebration of exceptional teachers, founded in 1998 by Lord Puttnam to recognise the life-changing impact an inspirational teacher can have on the lives of the young people they teach.

The Performing Arts team – based at the College’s Gorseinon Campus – won a Silver Teaching Award in the category, The Award for FE Team of the Year. They will now join fellow Silver Award winners, along with three Scottish Education Award winners and three winners of the Professional Teaching Awards Cymru, at the 20th UK Ceremony of the Pearson Teaching Awards, a glittering ceremony held in central London on 21 October.

There they will find out which of them has won one of just 12 Gold Plato Awards, the UK’s Oscars for Teachers.

Speaking about the team’s success, Learning Area Manager Lucy Hartnoll said: “This is a well-deserved award for an exceptional team who work with enthusiasm and dedication to influence the lives of young people, including those who they directly teach, and local primary school children.

“The team plan their curriculum to ensure that, through educational theatre, they raise the awareness in young children about important issues such as equality and sustainability. They represent the true ethos of community participation, and value the links made with local schools to inspire the next generation into the field of creative arts.”

Principal of Gower College Swansea, Mark Jones, is absolutely thrilled with the news and said: "This award rounds off a quite exceptional year for the Performing Arts team in the College – a year where almost 30 of their students have been offered places at some of the UK’s most prestigious drama colleges and universities – and is a well-deserved recognition for their commitment and dedication to their students."

Rod Bristow, President of Pearson UK, said: "A huge congratulations to all those receiving a silver trophy today.  They should feel extremely proud of their achievements and join an inspirational group of Teaching Award winners from the past two decades.  It’s an honour for Pearson to support these Awards each year - it’s so vital to recognise and celebrate those in the teaching profession, for their commitment to education and for the impact they have on young people's lives.“

ENDS