AN ENGLISH teacher from Marling School in Stroud has won a prestigious prize in the Pearson Teaching Awards 2015.

As part of Thank a Teacher Day on June 12 it was announced that Jayne Southwell, Head of English at the school, had won the silver teaching award in the category Teacher of the Year in a Secondary School.

The celebrated teacher, who has been at the school for more than nine years, was selected as a finalist from thousands of nominations from across the UK.

She will now join fellow Silver Award winners at the UK final of the Teaching Awards to be held at London’s Royal Opera House, Covent Garden on October 18, where ten silver winners will be awarded receive a prestigious Gold Plato Award.

“I couldn’t believe it when I found I’d won, I actually burst into tears,” said Mrs Southwell, who’s been a teacher for more than 30 years.

“The judge’s investigations were so much more intense than I’d ever dreamed. Before they actually interviewed me they sat in on three different lessons, checked my marking and lesson plans, interviewed past and present pupils and parents, spoke to my from group, the governors, my department and peers, and the deputy head.

“It was more intense than an OFSTED inspection” she joked, “that’s why I was so emotional when I was told I’d won, there was so much pressure and I just felt so happy for the school.

“I’m great for the pupils to get this kind of recognition too, Marling a fantastic school and I really do love teaching there. I want to say thanks to everyone at the school who vouched for me, now hopefully I can go on to win the Gold Award.”

As well as being head of English, Mrs Southwell also has a sixth-form form group, and leads the school’s debating society in competitions across the country.

Dr Stuart Wilson, head teacher at Marling, said: “We are all thrilled that Jayne has received this recognition for the skill, commitment and energy she brings to the classroom and her work across the school.

"It is a wonderful accolade for Jayne and great for the whole school community that the quality of teaching in the school is being recognised in this way”

The silver winners of each category in the Pearson Teaching Awards have been invited to the House of Commons on July 2, and the award ceremony in October, titled Britain’s Classroom Heroes, will be filmed and broadcast by the BBC as a showcase of excellence in education.

  • The Pearson Teaching Awards are an annual celebration of exceptional teachers and teaching, founded in 1999 by Lord Puttnam; they recognize the life-changing impact of an inspirational teacher on the lives of the young people they teach.