Oldham teacher wins national education award

Date published: 16 December 2020


Kabir Ahmed from Oldham, who teaches at the Derby High School in Bury, won the Subject Leadership Award for his outstanding contribution at the 20th Design and Technology Association Excellence Awards.

Ordinarily this would be an annual event with a formal dinner held at The Institution of Engineering and Technology, situated on the banks of the Thames in London.

Due to coronavirus outbreak, this prestigious awards ceremony had to be postponed and instead was brought online.

The sponsors and winners kindly prepared short videos that were included in the presentation.

The winners were presented with their awards via a zoom call which was filmed at The Institution of Engineering and Technology in London.

The Awards recognise the commitment and achievements of teachers, teacher trainers, education consultants and academics across primary and secondary schools, and further and higher education.

Nominated and voted for by peers in the education sector, the Design and Technology Association’s Excellence Awards is open to the 19,000-strong membership and non-members across England and Wales.

The awards were presented by Lesley Morris, Chair of the Design and Technology Association and Tony Ryan, Chief Executive of the Design and Technology Association.

Mr Ryan recognised Kabir’s achievement, saying: “Kabir is to be congratulated on his well deserved award, and celebrated for going above and beyond what might be expected in his contributions to supporting the subject of design and technology.

"We know that employers across the advanced manufacturing and creative industries are already concerned about the real shortage of engineers and designers and we need more people like Kabir to inspire future generations.”

Helen Hubert, Headteacher at the Derby High School, added: "In this increasingly technological world Design and Technology has become a vital part of any chool curriculum.

"We at The Derby High School fully believe in the value of this subject and through the vision an commitment of our newly appointed Head of Department, Mr Ahmed, we have managed to transformed this offer.

"The curriculum provision is current, relevant and exciting and fully prepares students for future employment in this industry.

"The school was delighted to hear that Mr Ahmed’s achievements have been recognised by ‘The Design and Technology Excellence Awards’ 2020.

“Mr Ahmed has made an incredible difference to the Design and Technology curriculum at The Derby High School.

"We are grateful for his enthusiasm and commitment to his role and the huge impact he has had.

"He thoroughly deserves this National Award.”


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