Top prizes on offer for our top teachers

Helping the district’s next generation of decision makers understand how to tackle a major international crisis will be just one of the prizes on offer at the Kent Teacher of the Year Awards.

The prestigious annual awards will not go live to accept nominations until the first week of January, but already organisations are lining up to give their backing to the event.

This week the School of Politics and International Relations at the University of Kent announced it will support a new award category at the event.

And part of the prize for the person named as Kent’s Politics and Citizenship Teacher of the Year will be to reward their school with a simulation exercise where students will take on the role of different United Nation ambassadors to debate and resolve an international conflict.

A number of other organisations have announced their support of the awards including Kent Sport, Southern Educational Leadership Trust, Brachers Law, Three R’s Teacher Recruitment, Social Enterprise Kent, Project Salus, William Giles Chartered Accountants, Kent County Council, Christ Church University and Leeds Castle.

The 2015 Kent Teacher of the Year Awards will be staged at Leeds Castle for the first time. Around 50 school representatives will be honoured at the event including support staff and volunteers.

To be notified when the event is accepting nominations sign up to the KM Link e-newsletter at www.kmcharityteam.co.uk An Ashford father accused of the manslaughter of his teenage daughter, who died after taking drugs, is to ask for the charge to be dismissed, a court heard on Monday.

Jason Wilkes was due to enter a plea at Maidstone Crown Court but it was adjourned until after the application is heard in the week beginning December 1.

His lawyer Brett Weaver said there was unlikely to be a trial on a second charge of supplying Class A drugs.

The 44-year-old was arrested after Chloe’s death on July 27 at their home in Tunbridge Way, Singleton, Ashford. She had taken MDMA (ecstasy).

An inquest heard how former North School pupil Chloe, 17, was taken to the William Harvey Hospital in Ashford after collapsing. She died later that day.

Wearing jeans and an opennecked blue shirt, Wilkes spoke only to be identified.

Philip Bennetts QC, prosecuting, said the toxicology report on Chloe would not be available for about three weeks.

Judge Jeremy Carey told Wilkes he had hoped pleas would have been entered but he would have to return to court in December.