FOUR outstanding Huddersfield teachers will take their place at a national award ceremony this weekend.
Moor End Technology College headteacher Jane Acklam, Ethos Pupil Referral Unit teacher Julie Woodhead, Salendine Nook High School teacher Peter Brown and Jacqueline Good, also of Moor End, have already been named as the best in the North.
And on Sunday they will join heads, teaching assistants and governors from across the country at the UK Teaching Awards 2009 ceremony.
The Theatre Royal Drury Lane will stage the event where regional winners will discover if they have won the ultimate accolade – a Gold Plato that is education’s symbol of excellence.
The glittering event before 2000 guests will be hosted by celebrity presenters Christine Bleakley and Jeremy Vine and screened on BBC2 at 6pm.
Jane Acklam, winner of The Royal Air Force Award for Headteacher of the Year in a Secondary School, in the North of England is described in her nomination as modest, compassionate, tough and an inspirational role model.
No child is allowed to leave Moor End without achieving appropriate academic success relevant to their ability and needs and she ensures pupils are well equipped for life outside school with the tools to take the next step in their lives.
Jane has been head of Moor End since 2005, when she introduced the motto Enjoy and Achieve: Every Day Matters.
English teacher Julie Woodhead, winner of the special needs teacher of the year award is described as “spell-binding”, exceptional and life-changing.
Julie works with pupils who are either anxious non-attenders or who for various reasons do not access mainstream education.
With patience, gentle coaxing and effective programmes of study she often takes her students successfully through two GCSEs in English in less than a year. She inspires them with an ‘I can do!’ attitude.
Winner of The TDA Award for Teaching Assistant of the Year, in the North, Jacqueline Good was nominated by the Student Body for her rapport with pupils and tireless work with some of the most disaffected members of the school. They said: “Mrs Good is the best, we love her!”
Peter Brown, winner of the secondary school teacher of the year inspires and influences everyone around him.
He began teaching at Salendine Nook in 1987, and has an amazing ability to bring his subject to life, using innovative methods.
