Rapping Rawthorpe maths teacher wins Pride of Britain Award

RAPPING teacher Jonathan Heeley is the Pride of Britain.

The Rawthorpe maths teacher, who goes by the name of MC Protractor for his teaching style, was named teacher of the year in the Daily Mirror’s Pride of Britain Awards.

He helped pupils in his maths classes at the Netherhall Learning Campus raise the GCSE pass rate from 12% to an astonishing 55% in seven years.

Mr Heeley said the award meant an “awful lot”.

He said he saw himself as a “modern geek”.

“I’m prepared to make a fool of myself and put myself out there to get results,” he said.

Joan Young, headteacher at the Netherhall Learning Campus where Jonathan has taught for the past seven years, said she was “absolutely thrilled” for him.

She said his personality shone through in the classroom and his enthusiasm for his subject and the children was boundless.

“He dances round the room like Tigger, such is his personality and talent,” she said.”

“He had a slipped disc last term, but had hardly any time off and the children knew nothing about it.

“He would lay on the floor in the staff room in pain and then go and teach his lessons.”

Mrs Young said results had risen unbelievably since he arrived at the school with GCSE figures rising from a “pretty dire” 12% to more than 50% of all students achieving a grade C or above in maths.

He has also taught students for early entry to examinations with some sitting their GCSE at the end of year nine – two years earlier than normal.

In 2007 Jonathan was also named as Teacher of the Year in the Examiner Community Awards and was nominated in the National Teaching Awards.

Not content to explain algebra and probability to students in Rawthorpe he also made his debut on television, passing on his tips on Teacher TV.

Jonathan was approached by the television producers earlier this year after winning the Teacher of the Year for the North and an Examiner Community Award for his skills.

And he has written and delivered two programmes on his favourite subjects to help teachers and students nationwide enthuse about maths.

The Pride of Britain awards, featuring a host of top celebrities such as Cheryl Cole, Danni Minogue, Philip Schofield, Sir Michael Caine, Dame Vera Lynn and Prime Minister Gordon Brown, will be screened tonight on ITV1 at 8pm.