Outstanding tutors are in the running for national honours

An outstanding teacher from Weston-super-Mare is through to the national finals of the 2009 Teaching Awards.

Christopher Gee, 26, of Priory Community School, won the regional award for outstanding new teacher of the year in June. He is now through to the televised national final at Theatre Royal Drury Lane tomorrow.

The event will be the biggest celebration of excellence in education, represented by individuals from 150 schools nationwide.

Mr Gee will discover if he has won the gold award in the young teacher category, sponsored by the Specialist Schools and Academies Trust, on Sunday.

The former Hutton Primary School pupil is head of geography and is in his second year of teaching at Priory.

Mr Gee's future aspirations include becoming an advanced skills teacher and writing educational books, and he is studying for a masters degree.

He said: "I came to Priory straight from my teacher training. The person who nominated me told me they had put me forward and it was a nice piece of news.

"In the final round you have to be assessed again by the national panel, which is made up of previous winners. If I win I would then become an assessor for next year's awards.

"I work in an outstanding faculty, humanities, where there are other outstanding teachers who could have easily been nominated. I feel touched."

Another West finalist is Chris Baker, head of elearning at John Cabot Academy in Kingswood, who is the regional candidate for the next generation learning award. He is a champion of the innovative use of technology in lessons.

Mr Baker, 31, a PE teacher, has used games consoles to help pupils learn to play cricket, Skype to communicate with pupils in other parts of the school and podcasts to aid revision.

Celebrating 11 years of recognition for unsung heroes, the Teaching Awards recognises head teachers, teachers, teaching assistants, governors and sustainable schools.

Oscar-winning actress Emma Thompson, new president of the Teaching Awards, said: "No profession is as important as teaching – because nothing matters as much as education."

Celebrity presenters Christine Bleakley and Jeremy Vine will conduct the ceremony, which will be screened on BBC2 at 6pm.

Musician Jamie Cullum and actor Patrick Stewart will congratulate the 12 UK winners. The Teaching Awards are open to every school in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

They were established by Lord Puttnam CBE in 1998 and are managed by the Teaching Awards Trust, an independent charity, whose mission is to celebrate excellence in education.

The Teaching Awards is sponsored by the Department for Children, Schools and Families (DCSF), BT, the National College for School Leadership (NCSL), the Royal Air Force (RAF), the Specialist Schools and Academies Trust (SSAT), the Training and Development Agency for Schools (TDA) and Becta.

To nominate for 2010, visit www.teachingawards.com.