Congratulations to the overall winner – ‘Teaching History’ editor Elizabeth Carr

We are delighted to share the news that on Saturday 20 June Teaching History Editor Elizabeth Carr FHA was named the national winner of the inaugural Inspiring History Teaching Awards at the Tower of London. 

The search for the UK’s outstanding teachers of history was launched at the end of last year by Historic Royal Palaces, supported by the Historical Association (HA) as an associate partner providing expert advice, criteria guidance and promotion. 

Nominations were sought and made from across the country, resulting in ten regional winners from the primary and secondary sector, all of whom were celebrated at the Tower of London event hosted by television celebrity Anita Rani. The finalists were joined by historians, educationalists, family and colleagues at the event along with an illustrious judging panel of historians, writers and educators: Greg Jenner, Sathnam Sanghera, Dan Jones, Shalina Patel, Katie Hunter and Michael Riley, led by Head Judge Lucy Worsley. 

We were delighted to see a number of faces familiar to the HA in the final ten regional winners, including two Teacher Fellows and a Quality Mark Gold awarded school. It highlights the benefits that HA activities and programmes have on a teacher’s development, especially those who are evidently standing out amongst their peers. 

HA Deputy President Dr Michael Maddison spoke at the final about the importance of good history teaching in an ever-changing, challenging and difficult world. A good history teacher does not just open up the past: they help young people to be excited about the world they live in and to examine questions of today with knowledge and rigour. 

It was clear that each of the regional winners demonstrated not just historical knowledge but a desire to help young people learn about the world around them, to make them enjoy learning and to feel its importance, not simply to chase results. 

The overall winner Elizabeth Carr has long been recognised by the HA as a history teacher of exceptional quality and experience, being awarded an Honorary Fellowship of the HA a number of years ago. In addition to being a busy teacher and subject lead she is generous with her knowledge in her own time. She is an editor on our discipline-leading journal Teaching History and a mentor on our outstanding Subject Leader Development Programme (SLDP). To both of those roles she brings what Head Judge, Historian and broadcaster Lucy Worsley noted: 

“Elizabeth Carr provided us with all the evidence we could possibly ask for to demonstrate her creative, inclusive, explorative, investigative and deeply committed history teaching, but to say that is not enough. She's also clearly working some kind of special classroom magic." 

All the judges remarked that Elizabeth was the overall winner for her exceptional combination of academic rigour, creativity, inclusivity and commitment to helping young people think like historians.

Elizabeth built Avanti Grange’s history curriculum from scratch – a broad and ambitious programme that encourages curiosity, critical thinking and historical enquiry. Her vivid storytelling, sensory learning experiences and evidence-first investigations help students engage with the past while developing the skills to question, analyse and interpret history for themselves. Avanti Grange’s Deputy Principal Kath Goudie described Elizabeth as “an absolute master in creating an engaging story and then getting students to talk and think about it”, adding that “she is an innovator and always has been.”

Her lessons explore history through music, images and objects such as handling spices while studying the early British Empire. 

CEO of the Historical Association Rebecca Sullivan said:

“All those who reached the final represent the excellence that is in our UK schools and underline the exceptional abilities that teachers have to encourage young people and to expand their horizons. Congratulations to all of them; to be recognised in this way at a time when historical study is being denigrated and distorted by some in society underlines our need to keep on celebrating our subject and supporting those who teach it. What these individuals demonstrate is how important a role a teacher can play in young people’s lives to equip them with the knowledge of the past that they can hold onto alongside providing them with skills to think critically in a world of mass information.”

Finally, thank you to all those who made the Awards possible and we look forward to working on the next ones. 

The finalists and regional winners were:

• Alasdair Bright, St Cuthbert's Catholic Primary School, Newcastle (North East England) 
• Alice Solomons, Sharples School, Bolton (North West England) 
• Dave Slaughter, St Peter's R.C. High School, Gloucester (South West England) 
• Joanna Smith, Studley High School, Warwickshire (Central England) 
• Sarah-Jane Bee, Little Heath School, Reading (South East England) 
• Jasmine Kaur, Centre Academy London, Battersea (London) 
• Fionnuala Glover, Holy Rood RC High School, Edinburgh (Scotland) 
• Elaine McPeake, St Dominic's Grammar School, Belfast (Northern Ireland) 
• Shellie Brown, Cadoxton Primary School, Barry (Wales)
• Elizabeth Carr, Avanti Grange Secondary School, Bishops Stortford (East England)

Read more about the regional winners