Two UK schools have been announced as finalists in the World’s Best School competition.
The competition announces winners across five categories: Community Collaboration, Environmental Action, Innovation, Overcoming Adversity, and Supporting Healthy Lives.
The prizes ‘identify, recognise, and celebrate schools’ leading and innovative practices that have had a real impact on the lives of their students and of their community,’ the T4 Education website reads.
The winners will be announced during World Education Week, in October, and each winner will receive $50,000.
Categories are judged by ‘distinguished and recognised leaders all across the globe’ coming from a range of sectors such as academia, NGOs, social entrepreneurs, government, journalism, and more.
Let’s take a look at the two schools, The London Academy of Excellence and Dunoon Grammar School, and what led to their place in the final.
London Academy of Excellence
The London Academy of Excellence, one of the highest-performing academic sixth forms in England, has made it to the top three in the Supporting Healthy Lives Category for their mental health program.
The academy launched a comprehensive Wellbeing Strategy which focused on improving its students’ healthy habits, behaviour, knowledge, and skills. The school worked with a local university, which sent a team of psychology students to provide all year 12 pupils with a dedicated course on strategies to improve wellbeing. They also ran a Wellbeing Ambassador training programme.
If the London Academy of Excellence wins the prize, they will use the money to train other schools, particularly those operating in areas of high socioeconomic deprivation, to deploy its innovative Wellbeing Strategy.
The Supporting Healthy Lives award recognises the schools which are ‘providing the opportunity for their students and community to live healthy by these and more ways in an integrated and sustainable way.’
Dunoon Grammar School
Dunoon Grammar School in Scotland has been named a top three finalist for the Community Collaboration Prize. This prize is awarded to a school that has collaborated and developed partnerships with their community to have an integrated approach in helping each of their students striving for a whole child approach based on equity and inclusivity.
If Dunoon Grammar School were to win the $50,000, it would use the funds to assist with transport and ‘invest in more advanced remote learning technology.’
The school was shortlisted for the award as it has been using its skill-based courses to try to reverse the brain drain taking place in the rural local area. The school evaluated the community’s needs and facilitated over 50 of these courses to ’empower students to work in a range of different professions.’