UK Cypriot teacher Andria Zafirakou has won a million-dollar prize for being the most outstanding teacher in the world after having been chosen from 30,000 entries from 173 countries.
Zafirakou, who was born in London to a Greek Cypriot mother and a Greek father, is an art and textile teacher at Alperton Community school in Brent, one of the poorest areas in the country.
The 39-year-old was named winner of the fourth annual Varkey Foundation Global Teacher award on Sunday at a glittering ceremony in Dubai.
As part of her efforts to make children and their parents feel included she learned basic greetings in many of the 35 languages spoken at the school.
She also visited students’ home and travelled on the bus with them to get to know them better, as well as redesigning the curriculum to make it more relevant to pupils.
“I was shocked. I was completely overwhelmed. I didn’t realise it was me,” she told reporters after the award ceremony.
Asked what she would do with the prize money, she said: “I’m going to be patient, I’m going to reflect, but as you know I think it would be really fantastic if I could think about how the arts could be celebrated even further within our school community.”
Prime Minister Theresa May congratulated Zafirakou during the ceremony which included a performance by singer Jennifer Hudson.
“You have shown enormous dedication and creativity in your work,” the Prime Minister said in her video message.
The terms of the award specify that Zafirakou will be required to keep working as a teacher for at least five years, during which she will receive the money in installments.
She will also be asked to serve as global ambassador for the Varkey Foundation.
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