A Neasden teacher who plays football for Spurs Ladies has been nominated for a global teacher award after raising more than £100,00 for Grenfell Tower fire survivors within a fortnight of the blaze.
Eartha Pond, Crest Academy assistant vice-principal, is one of three Londoners on the top 50 shortlist for the Varkey Foundation’s ‘global teacher prize 2018’, which sees the winner net $1m (£750,000).
As a PE teacher at the Crest Road school, Eartha helped to set up the ‘girls allowed’ clubs in schools, encouraging young women to take part in sport.
No stranger to politics as a Queen’s Park Cllr, Eartha also stepped up as a voice of the people of Grenfell and was interviewed several times on television about their plight.
Eartha lives close to the site of the fire and was amazed that her fundraising efforts, which included a sports day at Crest, drummed up such a huge amount.
Andria Zafirakou, an arts and textiles teacher at Alperton, north-west London, has been rewarded for her work in engaging with the community and encouraging more of her pupils to get university places.
“Thanks to Alperton Community School I am lucky to have the job of unlocking their belief in themselves to reach their potential,” she said.
A spokesman for Alperton Community School said: “We are really proud of Andria and all teachers and students truly appreciate her hard work. It’s really fantastic that she is in the top 50.”
Eartha and Andria are one of four teachers from the UK in the top 50, in a shortlist drawn from more than 30,000 nominations.
The global teacher prize was set up to recognize one exceptional teacher who has made an outstanding contribution to the profession as well as to shine a spotlight on the important role teachers play in society.
The winner will be announced at the global education and skills forum in Dubai on Sunday, March 18 2018.
Brent is no stranger to having its teachers recognised after Colin Hegarty, a maths teacher from Preston Manor School in Carlton Avenue East, was one of 10 teachers shortlisted for prize last year, having beaten more than 8,000 applicants.
Colin’s YouTube videos to teach kids maths for free were viewed by more than five million students.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here