THIS Thursday the best and brightest of Bradford’s schools will come together for the Telegraph & Argus Schools Awards 2018.

Every year we ask for people to nominate the teachers, support staff, governors and others who they feel deserve to be recognised as having a positive impact on the district’s education.

We opened up nominations late last year, and have recieved scores of responses. Earlier this year a judging panel had the difficult job of narrowing down all these nominees into a three-strong shortlist in each category.

This supplement lists each nominee and why we felt they deserved to make the shortlist.

The winners will be announced at the event at the Aagrah Midpoint in Thornbury on Thursday, March 15. Details of the winners will be announced online shortly after, and a list of winners will be printed in the T&A of Saturday, March 17 – with a free 16-page sounvenir supplement from the night in the T&A of Tuesday, March 20.

T&A Editor Nigel Burton said: “Great teachers are doing fantastic work in classrooms every day. They don’t do it for praise or public recognition. They crave nothing more than getting the most from their pupils. The very best teachers can turn an illiterate child into a life-long bookworm, a disinterested student into a passionate scholar and a maths ignoramus into a numerical intellectual.

“But teaching can be a thankless job sometimes. That’s why, with the help of Bradford Council, we set up the Schools Awards in 2014 to shine a spotlight on achievement and to celebrate the best and the brightest that the district’s education system has to offer. That first year was a tremendous success. Nominations flooded in across every category, and our fears about not having enough nominees were replaced by the pleasant task of whittling down the long list to a short list of finalists for each award. Since then, the Schools Awards have gone from strength to strength with every year being stronger than the last.

“And 2018 has been no different. Thanks to a diverse range of nominees, drawing up the final shortlist in each category has been a tremendous challenge.

“At the T&A, we know that education in Bradford is far from perfect and we are duty bound to report on the times when schools or results are not as good as they might be. But it is just as important that the great things happening in our schools every day are recognised. Whatever the result on the night, there are no losers and we salute the achievements of all the nominees.”

Michael Jameson, Bradford Council’s Strategic Director of Children’s Services, said: “This year’s awards come at a very exciting time for schools and education in Bradford. It is a great time to be a teacher here. The results and progress being made across primary and secondary schools and from early years to post-16 show that major improvements are already being achieved. Bradford is very well placed to ensure this journey of improvement continues. Our investment in the recruitment and retention of teachers and the impact of the new Bradford for Teaching campaign is helping to show people how rewarding a career in our schools can be. We have already seen more than 200 teachers joining Bradford schools after taking part in the bus tours run by the authority which give teacher training students a real insight into the opportunities and variety of schools we have across our district.

“Bradford has recently become an Opportunity Area which means new funding to support schools to boost the life chances of pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds. It also means that teachers in our district can apply for a new package of support, the Bradford Dividend, which will mean eligible teachers will receive reimbursements for their student loan payments, scholarships to fund taking leadership qualifications and the opportunity for professional development led by Bradford’s new Research School. These awards are a celebration of Bradford’s fantastic teachers and pupils and help us to get the message out that in Bradford our teachers are valued, well supported and well placed to help pupils fulfil their potential.”

Councillor Imran Khan, the council’s executive member for Education, Employment and Skills, said: “Bradford Council has been a proud supporter of these awards since they were first launched. They are a firmly established part of the education calendar in our district. Each year the event helps to highlight the inspirational stories of teachers, school leaders, support staff and governors and volunteers. It gives deserved recognition to the incredible individuals working in our schools making a difference and helps us to show people how much they are valued by the communities they serve.”