Northamptonshire schools celebrate winning prizes at national academy trust's annual awards ceremony

Several schools in Northamptonshire are celebrating after receiving prizes in a national academy trust's annual awards ceremony.

The David Ross Education Trust Inspiration Awards for Teaching Excellence were announced last week during a virtual awards ceremony.

Malcolm Arnold Academy and Preparatory School in Northampton won four accolades and Rockingham Primary School in Corby won two.

Trust chief executive Stuart Burns said: "It was a fantastic afternoon and great to see all of our academies holding their own celebrations on a smaller scale.

"It’s always wonderful to see so many colleagues being recognised for their outstanding contributions they make to our students’ lives.

“Congratulations to all of our winners for their richly deserved awards. Thank you to our sponsors too, whose tremendous support made our annual awards possible.”

The Northamptonshire winners were:

- Inspirational leader of the year: Megan Morris from Malcolm Arnold Academy

- Inspirational teacher of the year: Nasra Barre from Malcolm Arnold Preparatory School

- Inspirational teaching assistant of the year: Heather Barker from Rockingham Primary School in Corby

- Music academy of the year: Eastfield Academy in Northampton and Malcolm Arnold Academy

- Team of the year: Early years foundation stage team at Rockingham Primary School

- Unsung hero award - Amanda Dent from Bringhurst Primary School, near Corby, and Zoe Green from Malcolm Arnold Academy

- Volunteer of the year: Jackie Hibbert, chair of governors at Welton Church of England Academy, near Daventry

Stuart added: “This past year has been challenging for all of ours, especially in education.

"Colleagues had to change their ways of working and I could not be prouder of our staff and how they carried on their incredible work through multiple lockdowns.

“We were overwhelmed by the hundreds of nominations we received this year.

"We felt that we needed to introduce a new award category this year, which was ‘lockdown hero’ and the response was incredible."

Due to current government restrictions, all 34 academies watched the event broadcasted live from the trust HQ in Loughborough from their individual schools.

All profits from sponsors’ donations went to the trust’s Inspiration Fund, which is used to create opportunities for its 13,000 students to help them develop their passions and discover their talents.

Ali Martin, operations director for Caterlink, headline sponsor of the event, said: “Having worked closely with the David Ross Education Trust, we share their vision of providing every student with a world-class education.”

"As one of the DRET preferred suppliers, Caterlink Ltd is delighted to sponsor this amazing event which honours the achievements of passionate and hard-working individuals within the education sector.”