Meet Andria Zafirakou, who is now officially the best teacher in the world.
Andria, or Ms Zafirakou to me and you, beat 300,000 applicants from all over the world to win the World Teacher Prize, and €1 million in prize money. Andria is an arts teacher at Alperton Community School in a deprived area in London, and has brought it into the top 5% in the UK in terms of qualifications and accreditation. Because of the diverse population, she has learned phrases in 35 languages, just so she can communicate with all of her pupils. She says that her pupils often have to do their homework in the bathroom, as their homes are so crowded.
Asked what she will 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. I have seen how the arts help students to communicate. The arts help to give so much confidence and really create incredible young people.”
