Nursery/Primary School Teacher of the Year, sponsored by Basingstoke College of Technology

A PRIMARY school teacher came in for praise for his efforts helping pupils who need additional support.

Will Smith, who is the teacher for Year 6 at St Anne’s Catholic Primary School, earned the Nursery/Primary School Teacher of the Year Award.

He was cited for his work with the pupils in helping them outside of school hours and inspiring youngsters.

Will said: “It has been absolutely lovely, it was a really nice end to the evening.

“It was a total shock, I’d love to know who put me forward, I had no idea that I was going to win.

“It makes everything feel worthwhile, and it has been a good year.”

Part of the nomination for Will read: “He [my child] loves his sport and singing along to his favourite songs but has always found school work and homework very difficult.

“He knows he isn’t one of the clever ones and has issues with self-esteem. And then along came Mr Smith and just at the right time. I am not quite sure how, Mr Smith ‘got him’; inspired him, encouraged him and helped him to believe that he can.

“My child was given many opportunities for small group intervention, extra lessons after hours and lots of celebration of achievement. Some teachers just have that magic ingredient.”