Teacher of the Year: Shannen Higgins

SHANNEN HIGGINS has been nominated for the HSBC-sponsored Teacher of the Year award by one of her Year 6 students at Hautes Capelles Primary School.

‘She’s been great fun and fantastic at motivating all of her class through a very tricky final year of primary school. She has made such an impression and really made a difference to her class’, said student and nominator Maisie Harris, who will be starting at St Sampson’s High School in September.

Emma Blundell, Maisie’s mum, said: ‘Miss Higgins made the last lockdown so much easier for the kids. She is fun and approachable and really kept the class together during Zoom calls.

‘The final year in primary school always comes with panicky parents which Miss Higgins dealt with very well by putting everyone at ease.

‘She motivated the children to work from home, which can be difficult, by keeping them interested and keeping friendships going when the children couldn’t see each other in person.’

Miss Higgins said: ‘I have been teaching at Hautes Capelles for five years. I absolutely love it.

‘Teaching during lockdowns was a completely different experience for me, we tried to make it interactive and focus on the kids’ wellbeing.

‘It was nice to get to chat to them on our weekly Zoom calls because it gave me a break from worrying about them.’