Beech Hall teacher receives Lifetime Achievement Award

Janine Turner received the prestigious award for her dedication teaching German

Posted by Hannah Vickers | July 21, 2017 | People, policy, politics

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Janine Turner was presented with a lifetime achievement award prize at the German Teacher Awards 2017 by British novelist John le Carre, the author of many espionage stories. 

Held by the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany London, the awards celebrate the UK’s top language teachers. Following a successful career and an impromptu year helping out at Beech Hall School, Janine received the award thanks to her dedication to teaching German. 

In April last year, Beech Hall School’s then head of Modern Foreign Languages, Mr Richard Davis unexpectantly passed away. Janine stepped in during this sensitive period and took on the role professionally and with her guidance, the pupils achieved a 100% A*- C pass rate, with six pupils achieving a value added score of +10 and one pupil securing two grades higher than predicted for her German exam.

Janine has been teaching German for 37 years and has retired from the trade to focus on publishing projects. She has already authored three A-Level books and two more are in the pipeline. She has also received funding three times from the Goethe Institut in Manchester to deliver new projects to a number of schools across the North West. The German enthusiast has also introduced the language in to drama classes and has successfully directed a number of plays with the students speaking German throughout their entirety. 

Janine commented: “I have always loved seeing my pupils flourish in German, singing, writing poems, excelling in examinations, wanting to visit Germany and make German a part of the rest of their lives. My philosophy for teaching German is that if it is interesting then it is enjoyable.

“This award is an extraordinary thing to have and it means a great deal to me because German has been a very big part of my life. I have always enjoyed using it to communicate with German people.

I think it is a great thing in this country to encourage people to speak another language - Janine Turner, Beech Hall School

“I hope that I am responsible for a number of children continuing on with language. I think it is a great thing in this country to encourage people to speak another language.”

Headmaster James Allen commented: “Jan stepped into the breach with confidence and remarkable flexibility, falling into the existing timetable to teach pupils, and to prepare Year 11 pupils for GCSE and Year 9 pupils for FCSE. Due to the previous incumbent’s short period of illness, there was a degree of pressure on the GCSE controlled assessments and Jan managed this with professionalism and ultimate success, supporting the pupils with kindness and outstanding knowledge and expertise. 

“I, and the pupils with whom she worked, will always be indebted to Jan for stepping into a role with no notice and achieving such super results.”