It might have been long overdue, but the education sector in Milton Keynes finally got the recognition it deserves with the inaugural Milton Keynes Education Awards, held at the DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel.
Hosted by TV personality Eamonn Holmes, the awards ceremony recognised schools, teachers, headteachers, administration and support staff, as well as special projects that add to not only the curriculum but also to the wider experiences and development of children and young people.
In his introduction, Eamonn said:
“When we hear about teachers and schools in the news at the moment it’s about concrete and industrial action, but then an evening like this reminds us of the hard work, not just by teachers and schools, but all the support staff that work in education sector and we realise the positives. God bless you all for what you do!”
Organised by All Things Business, with headline sponsorship from IT company EasiPC, the evening saw 11 awards presented to an inspirational line-up of winners.
Among them was Stuart Hoggard who has been at Lord Grey Academy for 30 years and who was presented with the Lifetime Achievement Award.
Stuart said:
“When I started, I was going to stay for a year, and I’ve been there ever since. It has been a real privilege to spend time with all those young people and get them through some difficult times, and to see them get on the path to their futures has been great.”
Lord Grey Academy took three awards – Lifetime Achievement, Maths Team or Teacher of the Year and Secondary School of the Year. White Spire School, meanwhile, has a double success when Finlay Douglas won Headteacher of the Year and Sally Seminerio was named Business Manager of the Year.
Ben Thomas from awards organisers All Things Business, said:
“We are absolutely delighted with how the inaugural Milton Keynes Education Awards went. Our thanks to Eamonn Holmes, who was a fantastic host, and to headlines sponsors EasiPC, who helped make this event possible.
“We’ll be back again next year and expect it to be even bigger and better, because this is a sector that really deserves recognition.”
The full list of winners
Maths Teacher/Team of the Year
Lewis Kaye and Maths Department – Lord Grey Academy
English Teacher/Team of the Year
Gemma Williamson – The Hazeley Academy
Sports Award
New Bradwell Young Leaders – New Bradwell School
Environmental and Sustainability Award
Inspiring Futures Through Learning – Glebe Farm School
SEND School of the Year
The Walnuts School
STEM Award
The Bletchley Park Learning Team
School Business Manager of the Year
Sally Seminerio – White Spire School
Headteacher of the Year
Finlay Douglas – White spire School
Primary School of the Year
Knowles Primary School
Secondary School of the Year
Lord Grey Academy
Lifetime Achievement
Stuart Hoggard – Lord Grey Academy
