Awards honour teachers who inspire our students

Later this month, Oxford will be hosting a very special group of teachers and their former students, now first-year undergraduates, for what is one of the year’s highlights for those of us working in undergraduate admissions.

We all know how important the support of a good teacher can be to a student’s progress, and five years ago Oxford established the Inspirational Teachers Award.

The award recognises those teachers who have gone the extra mile to support students in applying to Oxford.

At the start of each academic year we ask students in their first year of study from state schools across the UK to nominate a teacher, careers advisor or sixth-form tutor from their school or college who inspired them at some point on their road to Oxford.

We are particularly looking to see how the teacher fuelled the student’s enthusiasm for their subject: How they offered practical help in preparation for and during the application process How they encouraged the student to apply for a place at Oxford How they contributed to raising the aspirations of the student and other students in their school to consider higher education more generally.

While this may sound like a lot, it’s always very hard to choose winning teachers, as so many who are nominated go above and beyond in virtually every respect.

The majority of winning teachers work in schools with little or no history of sending students to Oxford and their dedication is nothing short of incredible.

It’s impossible not to feel touched – and even a bit misty-eyed – reading about teachers who provide hours of extra subject tuition, pay for enrichment activities for entire class groups out of pocket, and spend lunch breaks and personal time preparing pupils for the Oxford interview process.

Even with such effusive nominations from former pupils, many of the winning teachers start off as reluctant participants in the ceremony, and say how their students do all the hard work.

It may be all in a day’s work for them, but it’s important to send the message that students and universities recognise how valuable the role of a supportive teacher can be.

This is especially true for teachers working in schools where very few students in any given year will get the grades to even consider Oxford, as many of these teachers do.

It’s these students that we want to encourage, but in a large school where few students go on to competitive universities, supporting an Oxford applicant through the application process, subject tests and the interview may not be a priority unless there is a dedicated teacher there to offer encouragement.

One thing we find even among those teachers who are initially reluctant to take the spotlight is that the dinner and award ceremony produces an incredibly positive and encouraging atmosphere.

Those of us in admissions find it a valuable chance to find out first-hand how best to support schools and teachers who don’t have a long history of sending successful students to Oxford.

It is an absolute privilege to work on this project recognising the crucial role teachers play in supporting and raising the aspirations of not just their most capable students, but of all their students, irrespective of ability.

Without exception all of the nominations we receive are truly heart-warming.

In many cases the students writing them never believed Oxford was for them or that they were even capable of having what it takes to gain entry yet.

They are now in their first term of undergraduate study, taking the time to write about all the special things their teacher did for them that made a difference to their lives in a way they never thought possible.

What a rare and wonderful thing to do.