A teacher from Coleg Gwent has called winning Lecturer of the Year a “surprise and an honour”.
Peter Britton won Further Education Lecturer of the Year in the 2022 South Wales Schools & Education Awards.
The awards recognise the hard work and dedication of schools across Gwent.
Entries are now open for the fifth annual South Wales Schools & Education Awards, which launched on Monday, March 6. See the full list of 2022 winners here.
Mr Britton said: “It was a surprise and an honour to be nominated for the award. It was even bigger a surprise to win, and I am hugely grateful to the learners that nominated me.
“It's a privilege to be recognised for the hard work that we as lecturers put in, but this award is representative of not just myself, but the department that I work within.
“One person cannot achieve success without an amazing team to help and support them, so I feel that the award is indicative of the department in which I work.”
Mr Britton has been a photography lecturer for 15 years, he has worked in wedding and commercial property for a variety of brands including McLaren Automotive, Porsche, Harrods and Hard Rock Café.
Bringing his real-world experience Mr Britton's students gain practial experiences in photography during their studies, from food photography to studio photoshoots.
Jacqui Spiller, also from Coleg Gwent won Welsh Medium Teacher of the Year at last year's awards.
Ms Spiller has been a tutor at Learn Welsh Gwent at Coleg Gwent for more than 15 years and taught Welsh to a group of asylum seekers and refugees living in Newport.
Coleg Gwent is a further education college with five campuses in Gwent, the Blaenau Gwent Learning Zone, City of Newport, Crosskeys, Torfaen Learning Zone and Usk.
Approximately 80 per cent of students at the college achieved A*-C grades - and almost a third of got A* and A grades in their A level results last year.
At Coleg Gwent 1,324 students sat A/AS Level exams and 1,045 learners studied Level 3 vocational BTEC qualifications in 2022.
Speaking to the Argus in August Ian Millward, faculty director for enterprise and academic studies said: “We’ve seen a real spike in the higher grades and have maintained an excellent pass rate."
Full list of categories for the South Wales Schools and Education Awards
School of the year
Above and Beyond Award
Private or Independent School of the Year
Teaching Assistant of the Year
Class of the Year
College or University of the Year
Early Years Education Award
Lifetime Achievement Award
Head Teacher of the Year
Primary Teacher of the Year
Secondary Teacher of the Year
Support Worker of the Year
Secondary School of the Year
Primary School of the Year
South Wales Schools and Education Awards 2023
The quick and easy way to enter this year's South Wales Schools and Education Awards. Choose from below which category you want to nominate an individual or establishment for and tell us in 500 words why you think they should win. You can enter nominations in as many categories as you like using this form. These awards – which will be promoted across our titles including the South Wales Argus, Barry & District News, Penarth Times and the Free Press Series – will celebrate those who have given there all in the past year. To find out the criteria for each category please go to newsquestevents.co.uk/schools-education-awards/
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