Top teacher credits team work
She might have been the one to receive a national accolade, but for Collegiate Girls High School headmistress, Melita Bagshaw, it was only made possible by the “school family” and those who had come before her.
Bagshaw, who has been the driving force of the school for seven years, scooped first place in the Eastern Cape provincial round of the 2018 National Teaching Awards, and walked away with the top prize in excellence in secondary school leadership in October.
The challenging process started earlier in 2018 when education department officials approached Bagshaw to enter the competition.
“The fact that I came first is a good marketing tool for the school and it is also good for the community and teachers to see that what they do is being recognised.
“It all comes back to the team – I might get the award, but I only get it because of the hard work which includes the parents, the old girls and the broader community and those who came before me, all their hard work,” she said.
The National Teaching Awards Scheme was conceptualised and launched in 2000 and is one of the ways in which the department of basic education acknowledges and encourages teachers in their efforts to develop each pupil as a citizen of a democratic, non-racial and non-sexist South Africa.
“I was completely surprised and I didn’t even think I was in the running because I am at a privileged, ex-model C school and I know other people work in very difficult circumstances and they do really well.
“I did not expect this at all.
“This is a journey of gratitude to be able to serve the community in this way because teaching is ultimately a service profession,” Bagshaw said.
She first won cluster finalist, which is made up of the Port Elizabeth schools district and the Graaff-Reinet district, and entrants were required to deworkshops liver a 35-minute presentation, covering the general criteria provided.
The best from the cluster attended a glamorous prize-giving evening in East London in October and each winner was given, among other things, a trolley bag, back pack and R5,000 from Old Mutual.
“It was a glamorous evening with a lot of dignitaries and keynote speakers, which was a lot of fun,” she said.
Bagshaw will be participating in the final leg of the competition in Gauteng later in November, where she will be competing against the top performers from the other provinces.