While this year’s Northamptonshire Education Awards proved a glittering celebration of the passion, dedication and achievements of hundreds of people throughout the county’s education sector, it was also a moment to recognise the other side of nurturing and developing our young learners.
More than 450 guests – made up of finalists, their friends and colleagues, sponsors, judges and invited guests – gathered at The County Ground, home of Northamptonshire County Cricket, to hear the winners announced. Schools, teams and individuals proudly stepped up to receive their awards and share their successes.
First up, however, was the Judges’ Special Award, instigated this year at the request of the judging panel.
The recipient was Matt Coleman, Deputy Chief Executive Officer at Nene Education Trust, whose pioneering work with schools not only within the trust but in the wider education community, has put young people’s mental health at the centre of the educational focus. Following the tragic suicide of one of his students, Matt set about implementing change by raising awareness in all schools about suicide awareness and promoting mental health training all staff.
Earlier in the evening, it had been announced that the mental health and suicide prevention charity Kelly’s Heroes would be the awards’ charity partner.
After receiving his award, Matt Coleman said:
“I think the main message is about how we use something so tragic as a catalyst for good. We can actually see how what we do is impacting on young people and how important it is to have suicide awareness as part of the National Curriculum. There are lots of other people involved but I’m proud to have been able to spearhead the initiative and shine a light on it.
“There are also lots of other organisations doing great work, and together we are making sure the right things are being talked about in our schools.”
Iain Stirling, comedian and the voice of TV’s Love Island, hosted the evening, taking to the stage after the guests had enjoyed a drinks reception and dinner.
First up on stage to pick up her award was Lydia Hadaway from Stanwick Primary School, who was took the Maths Team or Teacher of the Year Award. The judges had commented on how Lydia’s enthusiasm and obvious love for maths had shone through her application.
From there, the awards recognised the work of teachers, teams within schools and colleges, and the schools themselves as, among others, Nicola Holland from Billing Brook School was named IT Champion and Dan Rosser took the Headteacher of the Year Award back to Wootton Park School. The ESOL & Adult English team at The Bedford College Group were named English Team/Teacher of the Year, while the STEM Team at Northampton Academy took the STEM Award.
Northampton School for Boys was named Secondary School of the Year, while Olympic Primary School in Wellingborough took the Primary School of the Year Award. Inderjit Jutla from East Hunsbury Primary School was named Unsung Hero, while the Lifetime Achievement Award went to Patrick Leavey from Northampton College.
After thanking his family for their support, Patrick said:
“This is a real surprise and I am very proud and very honoured.
“I want to thank my colleagues for their kind words, it has been a privilege to work with such fantastic, dedicated people; those very special colleagues and friends who are here with me this evening.”
Although nominated for a number of awards, Blisworth Community Primary School had to wait until almost the end of proceedings to find out that it had been chosen as the Overall School of the Year for 2024. The judges chose the school because they felt that although it hadn’t taken any category awards, the comments they had read about how the school excels over a number of different areas deserved recognition with the Overall award, which is presented each year to a school that, once the judges have finished their deliberations, is considered to have stood out from the rest of the finalists.
Ben Thomas, Managing Director of All Things Business, the organisers of the Northamptonshire Education Awards, said:
“We, as a company, reinforce the message over and over again the business needs education and education needs business.
“And that’s why nights like this are so important. Yes, it can be tough in the education sector and it certainly hasn’t been easy for anyone over the past few years. But it’s also a community, with schools and professionals supporting one another and being there for one another and coming together to celebrate each other’s achievements.”
The winners
The Judges’ Special Award
Sponsored by Kelly’s Heroes
Matt Coleman, Nene Education Trust
Maths Team/Teacher of the Year
Sponsored by J Sweeney Accountants
Lydia Hadaway, Stanwick Primary School
English Team/Teacher of the Year
Sponsored by DFA Law
ESOL & Adult English, The Bedford College Group
Environmental and Sustainability Award
Sponsored by Apertus Group
Eco Team, St Luke’s Ce Primary School
IT Champion
Sponsored by easipc
Nicola Holland, Billing Brook School
STEM Award
Sponsored by David Williams IFA Mortgage & Insurance Services
STEM Team, Northampton Academy
SEND Team/School of the Year
Sponsored by Creating Tomorrow College
Billing Brook School
Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Champion
Sponsored by GIANT
Laura Stewart, Sir Christopher Hatton Academy
School Business Manager of the Year
Sponsored by Bechtle
Laura Patey-Smith, Wren Spinney School
Headteacher of the Year
Sponsored by FormFive
Dan Rosser, Wootton Park School
Unsung Hero
Sponsored by Speakers for Schools
Inderjit Jutla, East Hunsbury Primary School
Primary School of the Year
Sponsored by Sign In App
Olympic Primary School
Secondary School of the Year
Sponsored by Learning and Skills Academy CIC
Northampton School For Boys
Overall School of the Year
Sponsored by The Qube Modular Buildings
Blisworth Community, Primary School
Lifetime Achievement Award
Sponsored by All Things Business
Patrick Leavey, Northampton College
Find out more about the Northamptonshire Education Awards at https://awards.allthingsbusiness.co.uk/nea/
