World’s Best Teacher award

Three UK teachers have been shortlisted for the “world’s best teacher” award, in which the winner will take home $1m (£800,000).

Emma Russo, a physics teacher from London, Andrew Moffat, an assistant headteacher from Birmingham and music teacher Jimmy Rotheram from Bradford are all in the running for the Varkey Foundation Global Teacher Prize, which is now in its fifth year. The winner will be selected from the top 50 shortlist which will be narrowed down by a committee to 10 finalists, who will be revealed in February.  All 10 will be invited to Dubai for the award ceremony at the Global Educationand Skills Forum on 24 March next year, where the winner will be announced live on stage. The winner of the 2018 prize, announced in March, was Andria Zafirakou, an art teacher from Brent in North London who beat finalists drawn from 30,000 entries.

Ms Russo, who teaches at the all-girls South Hampstead High School in London… uses techniques including virtual reality headsets to encourage her students to share her passion for science. She also regularly sets up video calls between scientists and pupils, helping to improve students’ confidence and grades, with one class achieving 100% A/A* grades in Physics. She has also made considerable efforts to break down barriers for women in science, and runs Girls in Physics… where girls from across London are invited to hear from women in physics or engineering.

Article first appeared in the Independent and various other national press in December 2018. Ms Russo was also interviewed on LBC Radio and London Live TV and the Prime Minister tweeted her congratulations.