In the last fortnight I had the pleasure of meeting Andria Zafirakou at Alperton Community secondary school in Brent, north London. I went to visit Andria because she recently won an award as the ‘world’s best teacher’.
Andria won the $1 million Varkey Foundation Global Teacher prize in March, becoming the first ever British winner of the coveted prize. The arts and textile teacher has long championed the “power of the arts” saying that schools can make a positive difference in children’s lives through creative subjects – a sentiment with which I completely agree. As the Arts Minister I am pleased to see arts education recognised in this way and delighted Andria is bringing arts to the forefront. Andria has spoken of her desire to use some her prize money to promote arts both in her school and in the wider community.
I visited Alperton Community School, in the London borough of Brent, to meet Andria and her pupils and to see in action more of the positive impact that arts education makes.
Brent is one of the most ethnically diverse places in the country, with 130 different languages being spoken in schools in the area, and is also home to children from challenging and disadvantaged backgrounds. Andria does exceptional work in helping her pupils – she learned the basics of 35 languages in order to help her reach out to marginalised students and in doing so helped to redesign Alperton School’s curriculum which has resulted in the school now being in the top 5% in the UK in terms of qualifications and accreditations. The case of Andria and Alperton School is a shining example of how quality arts education can help pupils from challenging backgrounds succeed in life- which is why I am such a supporter of arts education. We have leading arts education here in Northampton with examples like Northampton School for Boys and Malcolm Arnold Academy and I encourage all schools to support arts and culture in their education.