A Neasden teacher and former Chelsea football player who helped raise £100,000 for Grenfell Tower fire survivors is among three west Londoners selected for the world's largest teaching prize.
Eartha Pond, a Crest Academy PE teacher and Westminster councillor, organised the school's sports day with support from businesses in the area to raise funds for survivors of the Grenfell Tower disaster.
Art and textiles teacher from Alperton Community School in Brent , Andria Zafirakou, and Reach Academy Feltham teacher Rebecca Cramer have also been shortlisted for the prize.
The trio were picked for the top 50 from more than 30,000 nominations and applications from 173 countries around the world.
Education news
The Varkey Foundation Global Teacher Prize 2018 is in its fourth year and at $1million dollars it is the largest award of its kind.
Eartha Pond played Premier League football for both Arsenal and Chelsea Ladies' teams before training to become a PE teacher.
Her Crest Academy sport pupils achieved a 100% pass rate in her subject.
Eartha's work has previously been recognised on the national level and she has won the Teacher of the Year award from School Sport Matters.
Andria Zafirakou teaches in an inner-city school in Brent where many of her students come from families where English is not their native tongue.
She has learned to speak the basics of up to 35 languages so she can help all of her students feel understood.
She puts on engaging art projects and working alongside other teachers she helped redesign the curriculum across a range of subjects so it relates to their lives.
She has got to know the families of her students and helped launch projects acclaimed in the community such as a Somali choir.
Alperton Community School, where she works, is now in the top 1 to 5% of the country in terms of qualifications and accreditations.
Rebecca Cramer is secondary headteacher and co-founder of Reach Academy Free School in Feltham, the first all-through free school in the UK to be rated outstanding by Ofsted in all areas.
In 2017 98% of the schools pupils achieved a good pass in English GCSE and 91% achieved a strong pass.
Rebecca has designed a curriculum that provides opportunities for pupils to engage with challenging materials that push them outside of their comfort zones.
The top 10 finalists for the Global Teacher Prize 2018 will be announced in February 2018.
Previous years’ top 10 finalists were unveiled by HRH Prince Harry in February 2017 and Professor Stephen Hawking in February 2016.
Founder of the Varkey Foundation and the Global Teacher Prize, Sunny Varkey said: "Congratulations to Eartha Pond, Andria Zafirakou, Rebecca Cramer and Tuesday Humby for reaching the final 50. I hope their stories inspire those looking to enter the teaching profession and shine a spotlight on the incredible work teachers do all over the world every day.
“We intend to keep this momentum going as our journey continues to return teachers to their rightful position as one of the most respected professions in society.
“We were overwhelmed by the huge support the Global Teacher Prize received this year.
"The over 30,000 nominations and applications we received from every corner of the planet is testimony to the achievements of teachers and the enormous impact they have on all of our lives."
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