NOMINATIONS have been flooding in for the North East School Awards launched by The Journal earlier this month.
This is the sixth year of the awards, which are open to primaries, secondaries and special schools, and recognise the fantastic work taking place in the region and the unsung heroes who make it all possible.
The Journal is again teaming up with main sponsor Northumbrian Water and its Teesside sister paper, the Evening Gazette.
The awards are also supported by Nexus and the University of Sunderland.
Last year’s big winner was The King James I Academy in Bishop Auckland, County Durham, which scored a hat-trick of prizes.
The students scooped the Active Community Award for the work of the performing arts group, Bishop Auckland Theatre Hooligans (BATH).
And Stephen Elliott, who has taught at the school for 16 years, was named Inspirational Secondary School Teacher of the Year.
The academy also won the special School of the Year award.
Mr Elliott said: “The students told me they were nominating me on the deadline day for entries and afterwards apologised for leaving it to the last minute because they thought they’d let me down. It was a great surprise to hear I’d won. I’m so proud to be part of the school.”
Student and member of BATH, Tyler Hutchinson, 15, said: “It was great to get the opportunity to perform at the awards ceremony. The reaction from the audience was fantastic and we were very pleased to win.”
There are nine award categories in total: four for projects and five for individuals.
The project categories are Sustainable School Award Sponsored by Nexus; Active Community Award; School Newspaper Award and Healthy School Award.
The individual categories are: Inspirational Primary School Teacher Award; Inspirational Secondary School Teacher Award Sponsored by University of Sunderland; Caretaker of the Year; Headteacher of the Year; and Support Staff of the Year.
The winners of the project categories will receive a £1,000 bursary. The individual award winners are presented with a trophy.
A daytime ceremony will be held for the finalists in July. Entries close on May 21.
For more information, call Jennifer Cook on 0191 204 3310 or e-mail her at jennifer.cook@ncjmedia.co.uk. Enter online at www.journallive.co.uk/schoolawards.
