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Outstanding Scottish school named Top 3 finalist for new $250,000 World’s Best School Prizes

• Dunoon Grammar School makes final 3 for World’s Best School Prize for Community Collaboration

An outstanding Scottish school has been named a Top 3 finalist for the new $250,000 World’s Best School Prizes, launched this year by T4 Education in collaboration with Accenture and American Express.

Dunoon Grammar School, a local authority secondary school in Dunoon, Scotland, which has developed skill-based courses to turn around its rural community, is a Top 3 finalist for the World’s Best School Prize for Community Collaboration.

The five World’s Best School Prizes - for Community Collaboration, Environmental Action, Innovation, Overcoming Adversity, and Supporting Healthy Lives - celebrate schools everywhere for the pivotal role they play in developing the next generation of learners and for their enormous contribution to society’s progress especially in the wake of COVID.

The prizes were founded by T4 Education in collaboration with Accenture, American Express, Yayasan Hasanah, Templeton World Charity Foundation, the Lemann Foundation, D2L, Mellby Gård, and Universidad Camilo José Cela, to share the best practices of schools that are transforming the lives of their students and making a real difference to their communities.

Vikas Pota, Founder of T4 Education and the World’s Best School Prizes, said:

“As the world looks to rebuild from the devastation of the COVID pandemic, far too many children will continue to be left behind unless we see urgent action on education. Leaders must learn from the knowledge and experience contained within our schools because those on the frontlines of education know better than anyone else the change we need to see.

“The World’s Best School Prizes surface the expertise of inspirational schools from every corner of the globe. It’s time for governments everywhere to listen to their voices.

“Congratulations to Dunoon Grammar School for being named a Top 3 finalist for the first ever World’s Best School Prizes. Teachers everywhere will be inspired by the example of this outstanding Scottish school.”

Pվɫ��Ƭ’s Policy Lead for Education, Councillor Yvonne McNeilly, said:

“This is an incredible achievement for everyone involved, and is a day that will go down in history. The prestigious Community Collaboration award is extremely highly sought after, so it is truly outstanding that Dunoon Grammar has made the final three.

“I am constantly overwhelmed by the school’s endless successes and I have every faith that, with the support and backing of communities across Pվɫ��Ƭ and Bute, Scotland, the UK and indeed Europe, we can take this award home.”

David Mitchell, Head Teacher of Dunoon Grammar School commented:

“This truly is fantastic news for our wider school community. To be the only European school in the final three of the Community Collaboration category of the World’s Best Schools Prizes is fantastic recognition for our school. I’d like to thank Vikas Pota and all the team at T4 Education for recognising our school in this way.”

Paul Gallanagh, Principal Teacher at Dunoon Grammar School added:

“We now need your support. We need the people of Scotland, the UK, Europe and beyond to access the T4 Education website and vote for Dunoon Grammar School in the Community Collaboration category of the prestigious World’s Best Schools Prizes. We’d also like you to join us in our #jigforjoy challenge – a fun way we can all celebrate this achievement on social media. Check out the Dunoon Grammar School social media channels for more information.”

About the school:

Dunoon Grammar School, a state secondary school in Dunoon, Scotland, is using its skill-based courses to turn around the fortunes of its predominantly rural local area, which has seen an exodus of young people lacking opportunities.

To try and reverse this “brain drain”, Dunoon Grammar School evaluated the community’s needs and gaps in the workplace and it facilitated over 50 skill-based courses to empower students to work in a range of different professions. Courses are diverse, offering students the chance to learn more about travel and tourism, design, or maritime studies.

Dunoon Grammar School works hard to ensure students reach their destinations post-school and connects them to regular work placements to bolster their chances. The school also develops entrepreneurial skills in its young people, allowing them to establish their own local enterprises or to effectively contribute to regeneration projects.

Working with Apps for Good - an educational charity that promotes coding skills – students have generated ideas and coded prototype apps, IoT and Machine Learning solutions to benefit society. When COP26 was held in Glasgow students conceived and coded apps to address the Climate Crisis.

The school has also offered learning experiences for children and parents to enjoy together in areas such as health and wellbeing, numeracy, literacy and digital skills. Its family liaison officer also supports families with applications for government benefits, helping to address the poverty-related attainment gap.

The school won the JA Europe Entrepreneurial School Award and its community collaboration work has also been celebrated through a number of Early Day motions at the UK Parliament at Westminster and the Scottish Parliament at Holyrood.

If Dunoon Grammar School were to win the World’s Best School Prize for Community Collaboration, it would use the funds to assist with transport and invest in more advanced remote learning technology.

Next steps:

The Top 3 finalists for each of the five World’s Best School Prizes will now be entered into a Public Advisory Vote. Members of the public have until October 2 to tell judges who they think should win each prize at 

The Judging Academy, comprising distinguished leaders all across the globe including academics, educators, NGOs, social entrepreneurs, government, civil society, and the private sector, will be presented with the results of the public advisory vote and will assess the finalists  based on rigorous .

The winners will be announced on October 19 2022 at . A prize of US$250,000 will be shared equally among the winners of the five Prizes, with each receiving an award of US$50,000. 

All shortlisted schools across the five prizes will share their best practices during events at World Education Week and through School Transformation Toolkits that showcase their “secret sauce” to innovative approaches and step-by-step instructions on how others can replicate their methods to help improve education everywhere.

ABOUT T4 EDUCATION:

We believe every child everywhere deserves a good education. We are building the world's largest community of teachers and schools to achieve this. Together. Our digital media platform provides opportunities for educators to network, collaborate, share good practices, and support each other's efforts to improve learning. We work to amplify teachers’ voices because the world we want to see will only be built by listening to those at the heart of education.

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For more information, please contact Salman Shaheen: salman@t4.education