Schools in the UK are being urged to enter the World’s Best School Prizes competition, which could win them a share of $250,000 for their resilience through the pandemic and their role in developing the next generation.
The awards were launched this year by T4 Education in partnership with Accenture to celebrate schools across the globe that make a difference to the lives of their students and the communities they exist in.
There will be one winner under five categories: World’s Best School for Community Collaboration, Environmental Action, Innovation, Overcoming Adversity and Supporting Healthy Lives.
The five winning schools will be announced at World Education Week in October, receiving $50,000 each. Applications for the awards close on 1 March.
A shortlist of the top 10 schools for each category will be announced later this year, followed by the top three finalists for each prize. After a public vote, the winners will be chosen by a judging panel of academics, educators, social entrepreneurs and civil servants.
The judging panel includes award-winning teacher Andria Zafirakou MBE, former minister of state for schools and learning Lord Jim Knight, chief executive of the Chartered College of Teaching professor Dame Alison Peacock, and founder of @TeacherToolkit Ross McGill.
Strong schools will not only equip the next generation to fulfil their full potential but empower them to tackle the greatest challenges our societies face, from inequality to environmental destruction and rapid technological change – Vikas Pota, T4 Education
“As a teacher, I know first hand the tireless work schools in the UK and across the globe have put in throughout the pandemic to keep children learning,” commented Zafirakou.
“The first-ever World’s Best School Prizes will help showcase and celebrate the incredible work our schools are doing across the planet. I urge them to apply so that the whole world can see their greatness,” she continued.
T4 Education expressed that many schools across the world are emerging from the greatest crisis they have ever faced and the prize money given to these schools will enable them to share best practices, help others replicate their ideas and democratise school expertise to improve education.
Vikas Pota, founder of T4 Education and the World’s Best School Prizes, added: “As the world seeks to rebuild from the devastation of the Covid pandemic, we must always remember the vital role our schools will play.
“Strong schools will not only equip the next generation to fulfil their full potential but empower them to tackle the greatest challenges our societies face, from inequality to environmental destruction and rapid technological change.”
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