VOTE now for your Teacher of the Year before Friday, June 3.
In the Standard's Teacher of the Year awards, there are 10 finalists for the Cotswolds and four for north Wiltshire, with a winner for each area.
In the Cotswolds, the winner will receive a trophy presented by MP Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, and a meal for two and overnight stay at The Royal Oak in Tetbury.
In north Wiltshire, the trophy will be presented by MP James Gray and the winner will also get a meal for two and stay at The Royal Oak.
Voting is open until Friday, June 3 and we have been profiling our finalists in our print edition each week.
To vote, fill in the form in our paper and post it to: Teacher of the Year, Wilts & Glos Standard, 74 Dyer Street, Cirencester, GL7 2PW, by the end of June 3.
Nomination forms already received will count as votes.
For the Cotswolds, the 10 finalists are:
Sean Price, Westonbirt Prep School
MR Price teaches a year five form class, a year six maths class, and sport for boys.
His maths teaching has been described as “brilliant" by colleagues and pupils, who added that "he inspires children at all levels and goes out of his way to accommodate each child”.
Mr Price, 30, from Bradford on Avon, is in his fifth year of teaching, and has been at Westonbirt Prep since 2013.
Mr Price said: “I like that at the end of each day, I know that I am helping people improve and that I am seeing progress.”
Nicola Kendall, Westonbirt School
MS Kendall, 31, from Sopworth, is in her tenth year of teaching and has been teaching at Westonbirt School for two years.
As a trained singer, Ms Kendall involves a lot of vocal technique in her teaching.
According to her, singing is a huge part of the curriculum at the school as she leads choirs and whole school hymn practices.
She said: “Music is fundamental because it is one subject that all people can be involved, regardless of whether you learn an instrument or not.
“I love putting on performances and I get to be involved in what I love. You’re not just teaching something, you’re doing it.”
Matt Jones, North Cerney Primary
MR Jones, 27, from Bath, is in his second year of his first teaching post and teaches 19 Year 3 and 4 children.
His pupils described him as helpful, kind and funny, and never losing his temper.
One pupil added: “He never raises his voice and he always makes lessons as enjoyable as possible. He makes me look forward to school.”
Mr Jones said: “I do have quite a calm and relaxed approach. I focus on making the children confident readers and making them confident in maths."
He added: “It’s very difficult because you do get emotionally invested, especially when lessons have not gone the way you wanted or when a child is not doing their best.”
Hannah Clark, Cirencester College
MS Clark, pictured second from right above, has been teaching at Cirencester College for eight years.
Students described her as “deeply committed” and said her continued support “separates her from other lecturers and teachers”.
Ms Clark, 36, from Westonbirt, said: “I want to make young people realise that they are never too young to achieve anything."
Ms Clark works with student entrepreneurs and has been deeply involved with the Young Enterprise programme.
She said: “It’s all too easy to think students’ only options are to go to university or go to work for someone else. We need people who have the confidence to go out there and pursue ideas.”
Duncan Walthew, Cirencester College
DUNCAN Walthew (center), aged 51, from the Slad Valley, has been teaching at Cirencester College since it opened 25 years ago.
He teaches drama and directs and writes productions for the Edinburgh Festival.
He said: “I try to avoid dull moments by injecting fun into every lesson.
“I make sure each student can see themselves as an individual and not a statistic within the exam machine.”
Jonathan Torbitt, Rendcomb College
MR TORBITT, 36, from Northern Ireland, has been teaching for six years and has been at Rendcomb College for four years, where he has revolutionised the ICT curriculum.
Today, children at the school begin computing at six-years-old, learning how to solve problems and programming robots. At 10, children learn basic Python and Microsoft’s Small Basic language.
Those who pursue computing afterwards learn how to program using C# and Ruby.
Mr Torbitt said: “The earlier you start learning something, the easier it becomes. Our kids understand more than the average kid because we teach them. We have extracurricular activities like PC building and game design.”
Colin Davies, Sir William Romney’s School
COLIN Davies, 36, from Gloucester, has been teaching at Sir William Romney’s School, where he also landed his first teaching post, for nearly 12 years.
He said: “Sir William Romney’s is such a small school. You know everybody and you learn what motivates students, that is something bigger schools perhaps miss out on.”
He spoke of the difficulties of teaching: “Some students think they are either good at art or not. But if that was the case, there would be no point in being an art teacher. I give students confidence, so they will give things a go.
“They respond to praise and that is an important factor of teaching.”
Julia Gibson, Sir William Romney’s School
JULIA Gibson, 44, from Cirencester, has been teaching at Sir William Romney’s School for 16 years.
Despite teaching all three sciences, she says that her main passion has always been in biology.
She said: “I am passionate that all pupils should aspire to do as well as they can, regardless of background.
“I try to make my subject as accessible and relevant to all pupils.”
Amanda Sanders, Stratton School
AMANDA Sanders, 45, has been teaching at the school for three years.
She has been described by a student as always "‘shining"’ out in the school, making “every pupil laugh and is always really funny”.
Mrs Sanders, who currently lives in Avening, near Tetbury, said: “Having started my teaching career later, I have a different perspective. I can show children how learning is key, it’s not just in school, it is a life-long learning.”
“The children teach me just as much as I teach them.”
Shirley Bond, Stratton School
SHIRLEY Bond, from Cirencester, has been at Stratton School for the past 20 years and has been a teacher for more than 30.
She often teaches the children of children she has taught.
Previously, she worked in various schools around Cirencester including Deer Park, Chesterton, Watermoor, Siddington, Kemble and Powell’s.
Mrs Bond, a part-time sports and special needs co-ordinator who will be retiring this summer, said: “I want to educate the whole child, to raise their self esteem so they can achieve more."
...And our three north Wiltshire finalists are:
Gaynor Grayson, Minety School
MRS Grayson at Minety Church of England Primary School has been described in a nomination as: “fair, inspiring, encouraging, motivating. She pushes – in a gentle way – to get her pupils to let their true potential shine in whatever they choose.”
The teacher, who leads English studies and teaches a year two class, has been at the school for eight years.
She said: “The children are great fun at this age and keen to learn.
“I have high expectations of all the children in my class, regardless of ability, and they all always try their very best in everything.”
Chris Bradshaw, Malmesbury School
FOR two decades Chris Bradshaw has been inspiring musicians at Malmesbury School.
The 46-year-old has been teaching for 24 years and for 20 of those he has been head of music at the Wiltshire school.
As a music fanatic, he said that the move to teaching didn’t seem like an upheaval: “I remember seeing what my music teacher did and thinking it’s a great job, going to work and doing your hobby.”
He added: “Malmesbury School has always been very supportive of the arts in general,” said Chris. “There’s a freedom to follow our music passions.”
Ann Wood, St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School
ANN Wood, of St Joseph's Catholic School, teaches all subjects in the primary school curriculum to year three and four children.
She has been described as "a wonderful, inspirational teacher".
Another nomination wrote: “I admire her control and the respect she gets from her students. She just gets them all.
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