The county’s most inspiring teachers honoured at awards
The Kent Teacher of the Year Awards sees teachers and school staff from across the county recognised for their hard work.
The prestigious ceremony, organised by the KM Charity Team, was held at Ashford International Hotel and saw more than 70 awards given to the dedicated school staff from across Kent and Medway.
Hosting the awards were Mike Ward, CEO of the KM Charity Team, and Nicola Everett, head of multimedia news at the KM Group.
This year, judges felt that the Kent Head Teacher of the Year was too close to call, so two nominees were selected as joint winners of the award. Renukah Atwell of Grange Park School, Sevenoaks, was one of the winners. Described at the ceremony as a ‘fighter’ for students, Renukah led the SEN school to its best ever GCSE results this year.
‘These awards reward education staff for going above and beyond’
The nomination added: “Parents are often blown away by the incredible opportunities that are open to the pupils, and what they get out of a trip to the theatre to help with their GCSE English, or a residential visit is immeasurable.
“They set the bar for both pupils and staff exceptionally high and lead by example.” Kathryn Duncan of Chantry Community Academy, Gravesend, was the second joint recipient of the award. Working in a school in an area of high deprivation, Kathryn’s efforts have seen Chantry Community Academy transformed from ‘Inadequate’ to ‘Good’ in Ofsted reports, and were also named as one of the top 3% of UK schools in 2019.
Kathryn’s nomination said: “They use their motto ‘what’s best for the children?’ to approach every decision they make and is unwavering in their determination that every child will succeed. “When some children were prevented from playing in the extensive outdoor grounds because of their inadequate footwear, they budgeted for every child in the school to have their own new pair of wellies.”
There were also district
awards handed out for different areas of the county, including Team of the Year and Primary School Teacher of the Year.
“It’s been yet another year of more nominations than we’ve ever had; with some truly inspiring stories,” said event organiser Mike Ward.
“The thing I love most about the Teacher of the Year Awards is that it celebrates all of the staff and volunteers that contribute to helping our children gain the knowledge and the motivation to be the best they can be.
“The awards are not judged on the number of votes but reward education staff for going above and beyond. “They are nominated by colleagues, parents and even pupils - making it the only awards in Kent where the people they truly have an impact on get to have their say.”