The Teacher Who Learned 35 Languages for Students Becomes “World’s Best Teacher”

A teacher who learned to greet her pupils in the 35 languages, so to attract them to the school and study has been crowned best in the world. Andria Zafirakou was selected for her work among the migrant children at Alperton Community School in Brent, north London.

The winner of the fourth edition of the Global Teacher Prize held in Dubai, Andria Zafirakou has also become the first British winner of a prize worth $1m (£720,000) for the world’s best teacher in Dubai recently.

Andria Zafirakou, on receiving the prestigious award, told reporters “I was shocked. I was completely overwhelmed. I didn’t realise it was me.” She said teachers in the UK “work extremely hard”, adding: “This award goes out to all of us.” 

Asked what she will do with the award money, she said, “I think it would be really fantastic if I could think about how the arts could be celebrated even further within our school community.” 

She called for more support for the “power of the arts”, saying schools can make a positive difference in children’s lives through creative subjects.

Northwest London, where Zafirakou teaches art and textile in Alperton community school, which is located in one of the poorest parts of the United Kingdom, where one-third of students live in extreme poverty. Many of her students come from a variety of backgrounds, from crowded homes, which are shared with multiple families, while some are exposed to gang violence with the borough having the second highest murder rate in the United Kingdom.

About 130 languages are spoken in the borough of Brent. In an effort to build links with her pupils, Zafirakou learned basic phrases in languages including Gujarati, Hindi and Tamil and has visited family homes.

As Zafirakou said, “by encouraging students to open up about their home, I discovered that many of my students come from crowded homes where multiple families share a single property, which is very crowded and noisy. The students use to tell me that they have to do their homework in the bathroom, just to grab a few moments alone so they can concentrate.”

In response to this, Zafirakou organised extra lessons during the day and the weekend, including giving pupils a quiet place to work. “What is amazing is that whatever issues they are having at home, whatever is missing from their life or causing them pain, our school is theirs.”

Understanding the student’s conditions, she redesigned the course curriculum along with her fellow teachers to make the course relevant to them and helped set up girls-only sports clubs for those students who belongs to conservative communities.

As a member of the school’s senior leadership team, Zafirakou has transformed the approach of education to reach out to isolated young people so that they can engage themselves in school life and perform to the best of their abilities. Sharing her experiences Zafirakou said, “I care about my students, all of them. My job is not finished the moment I leave my classroom. As I am interested in their lives, I use to make sure that whatever the issues are, I am there to help them.”

Andria Zafirakou received the honour at a ceremony, which was also attended by the former US vice president Al Gore, Tony Blair, and Formula One driver Lewis Hamilton. The Prime Minister of UK, Theresa May in her congratulatory message played during the ceremony, said the award was a “fitting tribute” for the contribution, Zafirakou had made to the society.

Nominations from pupils at Alperton community school spoke of Zafirakou’s dedication and ability to inspire potential in her students and the local community.

Last year, Canadian teacher Maggie MacDonnell won the prize for her work with indigenous students in the remote and isolated village of Salluit in north Quebec. This year finalist also included teachers from, US, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Colombia, Norway, the Philippines, South Africa and Turkey.

Started in 2015 by an education charity, the Global Teacher Prize aims to bring more recognition to the teaching profession. This year’ finalists included teachers from Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Colombia, Norway, the Philippines, South Africa, Turkey and the U.S.

Andria Zafirakou will receive $1 million as the prize money and she is being asked to serve as a global ambassador for the Varkey Foundation. As Andria Zafirakou has won the prestigious award, now she will be continue to work as a classroom teacher for at least five years and will be paid the prize money in equal installments.