Monkton teacher wins prestigious award

This week one of our inspirational teachers at Monkton, Rachel Glasgow, was selected from thousands of nominations as one of 102 Pearson National Teaching Silver Award winners across the country. Rachel was honoured with a Silver Award in The Award for Teacher of the Year in a Secondary School for her outstanding commitment to changing the lives of the pupils at Monkton.

Rachel coordinates the co-curricular activities at Monkton, including the ‘Wild Monkton’ program that builds on pupils time out of doors, while helping other staff to get students out into nature. She leads a team who share her passion for the outdoors, which has led to an overall mindset shift across the school  which is demonstrated by the gravitas and momentum that Wild Monkton has generated in the past two years.

Rachel is an inspirational teacher, passionate about her subject of English, and goes above and beyond in her duties as a tutor. She leads with trust and enthusiasm, supporting her team to make their ideas a reality.

Rachel has now been shortlisted to win one of just 15 Gold Awards later in the year, in a programme which will be broadcast on the BBC. This is a great opportunity to celebrate the exceptional school staff who have worked wonders during an incredibly challenging time for educators across the country. 

The Silver Award winners are being honoured as part of the wider celebrations for ‘Thank a Teacher Day’, a national campaign to honour and recognise school staff for their incredible work. 

Rachel said:

"It was a complete privilege to receive this award for all the things we have achieved as a team towards our outdoor programme, encouraging people outdoors. It's been a massive team effort and I am incredibly grateful."

Principal Chris Wheeler who presented Rachel with her award at a Principal’s assembly with all our pupil and staff in attendance said:

“Rachel would want me to recognise that she is one of many passionate and inspiring teachers at Monkton; she is only one colour on the canvas. Her work with Wild Monkton has seen her pull together a diverse team of staff, engage a huge range of pupils and have real and dynamic impact in the way pupils see the natural world, supporting them to become better stewards of the planet. Humble and servant hearted, Rachel will always go above and beyond and is always keen to give others the limelight - it is lovely to see her squarely in it today and to take a moment to recognise all she has achieved in the last two years.”