Educate Awards entries are top of the class for 2016!

A record number of schools and colleges have entered the biggest celebration of education in the North West – the Educate Awards 2016.

The awards bring together inspiring leaders and support staff from schools in the Liverpool City Region, Cheshire and Lancashire to showcase the brilliance within the region’s education sector.

Hundreds of entries have been submitted from across the region for 2016, breaking previous records.

From inspiring teachers, superb support staff to innovative projects across the curriculum, hundreds of entries have been sent in across the 21 award categories.

Kim O’Brien, founder of the Educate Awards, said: “This year’s quality of entries is outstanding. It’s fantastic to see a great mix of primary and secondary schools to colleges from across the Liverpool City Region, Lancashire and Cheshire take part and highlight their success, whether that be in sport, art, STEM or enterprise. Nominations for Teacher of the Year and School Support Star have been so inspiring, they really highlight the dedication, passion and energy of the staff who are bringing learning to life for pupils.

“The judges are now in the process of shortlisting the entries, which is always a difficult but rewarding task. The whole host of industry experts we have on board as award judges, spanning across education, technology, arts, science, business and entertainment, ensure each category is judged expertly, making winning even more prestigious. Good luck to everyone who entered.”

Returning for its fifth year on Friday 18 November at Liverpool Cathedral, the Educate Awards will be held in partnership with Copyrite Systems and Ricoh UK as title sponsors.

Associate sponsors include All About STEM, The Foundry Agency, Greater Merseyside Learning Providers’ Federation (GMLPF), eCadets, Merseyside Network for Collaborative Outreach (MNCO), PCS Law, Capita Education, Wray Bros School Improvement Liverpool Ltd, Liverpool John Moores University and the Witherslack Group Ltd.

Making the all-important shortlist are judges Henry Platten, founder of the multi award-winning eCadet Scheme; Michelle Dow, managing director of MerseySTEM; James Tartt, Merseyside track athlete and architect; Radio City breakfast host Leanne Campbell; Olympian and managing director of Raise The Bar, Steve Smith; Councillor Gary Millar, Liverpool’s cabinet member for business, enterprise and investment; Chris Walker, regional managing editor of Trinity Mirror North West and North Wales; Lesley Martin-Wright, chief executive of Knowsley Chamber; Fiona Barnet, director of The Foundry Agency; Andrew Pimbley of Wirral’s Claremont Farm; and the education team at the respected Everyman and Playhouse Theatres.