THIS time, we spoke to the winner of last year’s Inspiring Teacher award, The Costello School’s modern foreign languages subject leader, Ljiljana Jones.

Last year, Ljiljana was called up on stage to receive the award, much to her shock.

She said: “It was a huge surprise to be called up, I think for the first few seconds I heard someone else’s name instead of mine.

“It was a lovely surprise, and I wanted to dedicate it to all teachers, it’s not just one person who is doing all the work, there is a whole team of people behind it. The reaction from the children who saw me in the paper was lovely.”

Ljiljana has carried on since winning, dedicating time and energy to various programmes including exchange programmes from Germany, and trips to Latvia and Ghana.

Getting out and about is key to the development of pupils, according to Ljiljana.

She added: “Working on the Erasmus Project and letting the children go to different countries to build their characters is very important.

Our Erasmus Project was commended and approved in February this year.”

Ljiljana has been teaching for 42 years, at The Costello School for 18 of those years, and there are no plans to stop any time soon.

Ljiljana said: “I don’t sit still, and even though people have previously said that I should think about retiring, but I love the children. I haven’t even thought about retiring. I suppose I must love my job.

“Some of the ones that I taught all those years ago write to me on occasion, and they have families of their own now and that feels good.”

When asked if other people should get involved in the A Place To Be Proud Of awards, Ljiljana said: “I think so, it gives people the recognition they deserve, and it makes them feel good, and it does a lot for Basingstoke, which is really important.

“The winners do what they do because it is the right thing to do, not because of awards. I really believe in the children and that there is a ball of gold inside every child. They should be given opportunities and experiences. That is what teachers are for. Sometimes the children believe that we are there to punish them, but that isn’t the case.”

The closing date for nominations to the Place To Be Proud Of awards is March 23. To make a nomination, go to destinationbasingstoke.co.uk.