Cottingham primary school unsung hero surprised by Alex Jones with award on BBC’s The One Show

A Northamptonshire school administrator has been named as one of the nation’s most inspirational educators on BBC One’s The One Show.

Selected from thousands of nominations, Carolynn Southcombe of Cottingham CofE Primary School won a coveted Gold Award in the Pearson National Teaching Awards.

Using a disguise, TV star Alex Jones had arrived at the school pretending to be a baker delivering an urgently needed cake to surprise Carolynn.

Waiting for the much-loved school admin lady in the hall were pupils and staff and a One Show film crew.

Carolynn said: “I was overwhelmed to have been nominated in the first instance. Winning the gold is incredible and also a testament to Cottingham CofE Primary School – it really is an amazing place to work. I want to thank Mr Scott the headteacher for nominating me and letting me be me, leading the children in various activities to help get that important message across about looking after their mental health and wellbeing. I want to thank the children who really make our school the amazing place it is and all the staff and school community for their support.”

Carolynn has worked as an administrator at the school for 20 years, having previously served in the RAF for eight years and working as a special constable for four years. She organises student enrichment trips, arranges weekly whole school yoga sessions and opens these up to students and parents.

She has walked the London Marathon, completed a 100-mile walking challenge in three weeks and taken part in a London to Brighton walk to raise funds for an outdoors area for all students. As well as raising thousands of pounds for the children, charities including The British Heart Foundation and Breast Cancer UK have also benefited from her support.

She also leads the Magnificent Minds group, working with select children who work as role models to promote wellbeing and healthy living to other students, as well as the ‘Love to Lunch’ group which invites family members into school to eat with the children and enjoy the experience of sharing special time together.

Gold Award winners go above and beyond their role to change the lives of their students, supporting them and their families.

The Pearson National Teaching Awards is an annual celebration founded in 1998 by Lord Puttnam to recognise the life-changing impact an inspirational teacher can have on the lives of the young people they work with.

Sir Michael Morpurgo, president of the teaching awards trust, said: "Teachers and school staff will never know how many lives they have changed, or the impact they have made on so many children and their families, but our hope is that these awards help show them our gratitude, how much we owe them, how much we value their dedication.”

Sharon Hague, managing director at Pearson School Qualifications, said: “Congratulations to all our Gold Award winners, who are shining examples of the incredible work going on in our nurseries, schools and colleges every day.”

Watch Carolynn being surprised by Alex Jones at https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m001fjk7/the-one-show-25112022.