Global Teacher Prize: Two teachers in England up for $1m award

David Swanston and Cat Davison made the final 50 shortlist from 8,000 nominations from 121 countries

Two teachers in England are in the running for the world's best teacher award and its $1m (£723,000) prize.

The Varkey Foundation Global Teacher Prize 2021 in partnership with UNESCO is now in its seventh year was set up to recognise exceptional teachers.

David Swanston, who works in Liverpool, and Cat Davison, a teacher in Kent, have made the top 50 shortlist from 8,000 nominations and 121 countries.

Two students in England are shortlisted in the sister Global Student Prize.

Mr Swanston has worked at St Vincent's School for children with sensory impairments in the West Derby area of Liverpool for over 10 years.

Last year he was a gold winner in the Pearson National Teaching Awards for excellence in special needs education, and was also appointed deputy principal of St Vincent's.

Currently, he is working on the development of rugby specifically for blind people by modelling game play and creating ball prototypes using textures and electronics.

Mr Swanston said he was "proud" to be shortlisted "amongst so many inspiring teachers".

"It's also wonderful recognition for St Vincent's School - our students, staff and wider community who are making such a difference locally, nationally and internationally," he said.

'Humbled and excited'

The Varkey Foundation said Ms Davison, a critical thinking teacher at Sevenoaks School in Kent, has created innovative curricula that apply ethics to action which introduces students to critical perspectives on charitable and environmental action alongside social entrepreneurship and advocacy projects.

It has prompted a surge of 120 student-led projects, it said.

Ms Davison has worked with teachers and students in Ghana and the UK to create EduSpots, a network of 42 community-led solar-powered libraries.

She said she felt "humbled and excited" to be selected "alongside such inspiring educators".

She thanked "all the incredible teachers, students and community educators" she had worked with who showed her "the power of education to affect social change".

Ranjitsinh Disale from India was crowned last year's best global teacher and shared his winnings with the nine runners-up.

Andria Zafirakou, who teaches art and textiles in London, became the UK's first winner in 2019.

Two students from England have also been shortlisted in a new award, the Chegg.org Global Student Prize 2021 which includes a $100,000 prize.

Elliott Lancaster and Enoch Opare Mintah are up for the Global Student Prize

Elliott Lancaster, a 24-year-old postgraduate student at Keele University in Staffordshire, has been selected for his campaigns for mental health, social enterprise, sustainability and a solution to homelessness alongside his studies.

He said it was "humbling" to be recognised for his community work and if he won he would try set up a "sustainable student network" to address global issues, such as coronavirus, climate change, hunger and digital poverty.

Ghanaian-born Enoch Opare Mintah, a 30-year-old student at the University of Lincoln, is also in the last 50 shortlist.

The Varkey Foundation said as well as teaching students in deprived communities, he created the Ubuntu project which connected a special-needs school in the UK with students in rural Ghana at the height of the pandemic.

The top 50 shortlists will be narrowed down to 10 finalists in both categories in October with the overall winners due to be announced at an awards ceremony in Paris in November.