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Pride of P lymouth In association with
AWARDS 2013
Sponsor: TAXIFIRST
SHORTLIST
Pride of Plymouth
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Bernie Evans Andy Stearnes Clive Easter
Sponsor: PLYMOUInTHassociation with CITY AWARDS 2013 COUNCIL
Three of those inspirational characters have made the shortlist in the Teacher of the Year category. The judges picked the candidates for their commitment to young people which they felt went “beyond their everyday role”. Headteacher Bernie Evans, football coach Andy Stearnes and college lecturer Clive Easter were all put forward. Hyde Park junior school head, Bernie Evans, trained at what is today known as the University of St Mark and St John. The mother of two worked at Laira Green, Estover and Widey Court primaries before joining the school where she has been headmistress for the last eight years. The school has received two “outstanding” Ofsted inspections in that time. She is also a national leader in education and as part of that, she works with other schools to help them improve. Widowed in 2011 after husband Julian, a senior manager at Derriford hospital, passed away, she has kept up standards while being a single parent to Jenny, 18, and Jack, 16. Speaking about her love of teaching, she said: “It is always about the children. No two days are the same. That creative thinking has always got a place and that keeps me motivated.
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“I go all over the country and I come back so proud to be a head here in Plymouth. We are light years ahead of other parts of the country. I think my headteacher colleagues are quite stunning as a group.”
Bernie Evans, with daughter
He says sport has to be about developing the person and not simply about winning. Married to Tanya, with two boys of his own – Bradley, 12, and Charlie, 10 – Mr Stearnes coaches football on Saturday mornings, Thursday evenings and during the school holidays. The 50-year-old said: “It is not about putting pressure on them to win. We want to enhance their skills and other things, such as accepting defeat and seeing what they do well and to focus on that. I want them to go on and be better people.” Clive Easter was formerly an engineer and researcher for 18 years before converting his skills into a teaching qualification. After stints teaching in Essex, Peterborough and London, he moved back to Plymouth for the third time in his life to marry his wife Audrey in 1998. Since 2012 he has been a permanent teacher at City College, taking engineering students through both theory and practical workshops. His nominator remarked that he had a natural aura when it came to dealing with hungry minds. Mr Easter said his greatest pleasure comes from “knowing that I have done the best for my students. It is the whole raison d‘etre of being a teacher. The satisfaction of knowing that you have helped someone and informed and enlightened them. “I try and use empathy to meet their needs. Everybody is individual and does not have the same needs so I try and work to meet them.” A spokeswoman for category sponsors TaxiFirst said: “We are proud to be sponsoring the Teacher of the Year award. As a company, we deal a lot with all the local schools and are an integral part in getting children to and from school. Being a teacher is such an important role and we wish all the nominees good luck.”
plymo
Pride of P lymouth
EVERY person has that teacher who lingers long in the mind for how motivating they were.
Tor Bridge High teacher Andy Stearnes was praised not just for his classroom skills but his ability to get the most out of youngsters on the football pitch.
plymouthherald.co.uk/pride
THX-E01-S3
Teacher of the year
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Clive Easter
Andy Stearnes
EACH and every category at the Pride of Plymouth awards is brimming with stories of the brave, the selfless and the humble who work only for the good of their loved ones and the community. The Pride of Plymouth Award, sponsored by Plymouth City Council, offers us the chance to recognise one outstanding person, or group of people, who epitomise what tonight’s ceremony is all about. Throughout the categories, we have heard stories of ordinary people who go above and beyond the call of duty in order to help others. Those who have saved animals from the clutches of death; others who spend every waking hour caring for a family member or even a stranger they have welcomed into their home; or people who go that extra mile to make sure our streets are safe and our children are taught well. The winner or winners of this award have been chosen by the judges to mark their exceptional contribution to Plymouth’s community. An unsung hero whose efforts deserve to be known by each and every inhabitant of this, Britain’s Ocean City. Leader of chief sponsors Plymouth City Council, Councillor Tudor Evans, said: “A ceremony like this can sometimes seem like just a smooth, polished and superficial event, but not the Pride of Plymouth. “Our ceremony is an opportunity to see the grit and determination that you need in life to do something that really counts, to make a difference to other people’s lives. The nominees really have put themselves out; they’re doing far more than ‘their bit’.”
plymouthherald.co.uk/prid