Andria Zafirakou, an art and textiles teacher from Alperton Community School, Brent, London, has been named as the champion of the Varkey Foundation Global Teacher Prize 2018, granted under the patronage of His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Vice President and Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates and Ruler of Dubai.

The glittering award ceremony was hosted by comic and actor Trevor Noah and consisted of a special musical performance by Oscar-winning starlet and Grammy award winning singer Jennifer Hudson. Over 4,000 children collected to announce this year's winner using a special video clip message. Almost 2,000 of those collected attained a world record - world's largest human hashtag symbol.

Four times Formula One champion Lewis Hamilton was involved in a feat where he competed to the Global Teacher Prize 2018 ceremony in a Mercedes Benz GTC, escorted by three Dubai Police supercars (Ferrari, Mercedes SL AMG and Audi R8). He got here just in time to provide the Global Teacher Prize trophy on stage.

In a special congratulatory video message broadcast right into the ceremony hall, UK Prime Minister Theresa Could, said:

Being a great teacher requires resilience, ingenuity, and a generous heart. These are the qualities that you share with your students everyday. So thank you for all you have done and continue to do.

I would also like to extend a huge thank you to His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum. For his support of the teaching profession and patronage of this prize.

Currently in its 4th year, the US$ 1 million award is the largest prize of its kind, and was set up to recognize one remarkable instructor who has made an outstanding payment to the career as well as to radiate a limelight on the essential role instructors play in society.

Andria Zafirakou shows in an inner-city school in Brent, one of the poorest parts of the UK, with over a third of children living in poverty and most of her trainees originating from jampacked houses shared with several households. At the very same time, a few of her students are exposed to gang violence with the borough having the second highest murder price in the UK. Brent is likewise ethnically varied with the 2nd biggest percentage of black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) people in England and Wales, and a 2011 school demographics highlighting that 149 languages were spoken.

As a member of the school's senior leadership team, Andria has transformed her school's approach to reach usually separated young people to ensure that they could participate in school life and execute to the very best of their abilities. She swiftly knew that a one dimension fits all educational program would certainly not reverberate with all her trainees so she approached revamping it from top to bottom, alongside fellow teachers, in order to make it appropriate to her stuents lives. She aided a music instructor launch a Somali school choir and developed different schedules to permit girls-only sporting activities that would certainly not upset conservative communities, leading the girls' cricket group on to triumph and winning the McKenzie Cup. In her own arts course, she dealt with an "Musician in Home" (Armando Alemdar) to creatively revamp the art curriculum to promote ideas and assist students challenge and handle the responsibilities of their intricate home scenarios. Because of this, Alperton has actually been granted specialist school condition in visual arts.

Sunny Varkey, founder of the Varkey Foundation, said:

I want to congratulate Andria Zafirakou for winning the Global Teacher Prize 2018. I hope Andrias story will inspire those looking to enter the teaching profession and shine a powerful spotlight on the incredible work teachers do all over the world every day.

The other 9 finalists for the Global Instructor Reward 2018 are:

- Nurten Akku a pre-school teacher and principal at Ayvack Pre-School, Samsun, Turkey;
- Marjorie Brown, who teaches history at Roedean School, Johannesburg, South Africa;
- Luis Gutierrez, a social science teacher at the Gerardo Paredes School, Suba, Bogot Colombia;
- Jesus Insilada, who teaches English and creative writing at Caninguan National High School in Lambunao, Iloilo, Philippines;
- Glenn Lee, an engineering and technology teacher from Waialua High & Intermediate School, Waialua, Hawaii, United States;
- Diego Mahfouz Faria Lima, director of Darcy Ribeiro Municipal School, in So Jos do Rio Preto, So Paulo, Brazil;
- Koen Timmers, a lecturer at PXL university college in Hasselt and a computer science teacher at CVO De Verdieping school in Heusden-Zolder, Belgium;
- Eddie Woo, a mathematics teacher from Cherrybrook Technology High School, Sydney, Australia;
- Barbara Anna Zielonka, an English teacher at Nannestad High School, Norway.

The original top 50 shortlisted teachers were limited to 10 finalists by a Prize Committee. The winner will certainly be chosen from this ten by the Global Instructor Reward Academy. All 10 finalists will certainly be invited to Dubai for the Award event at the Global Education and Abilities Forum (GESF) on Sunday 18 March, where the champion will be revealed reside on phase in a red rug gala occasion which is beamed around the world.

To join the conversation online adhere to #TeachersMatter on: https://twitter.com/TeacherPrize and https://www.facebook.com/teacherprize.