A Billingham teacher who was named as one of the top 10 teachers in the world has missed out on a million-dollar Nobel-style teaching award.
Dr Richard Spencer, of Middlesbrough College, was one of the final 10 shortlisted to receive the first ever Varkey Foundation Global Teacher Prize, which recognises an “exceptional” individual who has made an outstanding contribution to the profession.
The winner was announced during a ceremony at the Global Education and Skills Forum in Dubai today.
Nancie Atwell from Maine in the United States was crowned the overall winner.
Nancie will receive one million US dollars, around £630,000, paid over 10 years, and will be asked to serve as a global ambassador for the Varkey GEMS Foundation, attending events and speaking about their work.
The Middlesbrough College head of science was the only British teachers to reach the final 10 in the Varkey GEMS Foundation Global Teacher Prize after being selected from more than 5,000 nominations and 1,300 final applications from 127 countries.
Dr Spencer trained as a secondary school biology teacher after completing a PhD in Molecular Biology and becoming a post-doctoral reseacher.
He has been a chartered biologist and science teacher for more than 22 years and has a host of educational achievements and has received numerous awards for innovative science teaching, including Further Education Teacher of the Year.
He was also given an MBE for services to science communication in 2010.
In addition to teaching, Dr Spencer, of Wolviston Court, Billingham, contributes to education conferences and festivals across Europe.
He has won a number of awards for science teaching, trains science teachers internationally and takes part in conferences and workshops.
In January he was named in an elite list of the UKs top 100 practising scientists selected by the Science Council to highlight the diverse roles in the profession.
Working teachers who teach pupils who are in compulsory schooling, or below the age of 18, were eligible to apply, as were heads who also teach. The prize was open to teachers in every country in the world.
The Foundation said it had set up the award as part of a bid to improve the status of the teaching profession.
Sunny Varkey, founder of the Varkey GEMS Foundation, said: “The thousands of applications we received from all around the world is testimony to the achievements of teachers and the enormous impact they have on all of our lives.”
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