A man who impacted and changed the aspirations of his pupils has been shortlisted for a secondary school ‘Teacher of the Year’ award.

Tom Knott was nominated for his instrumental role in transforming The Totteridge Academy’s maths department, leading to significant improvements.

He said: “It is a huge honour to have been nominated for such a prestigious award.

“It is a wonderful acknowledgement of the great things that are happening at The Totteridge Academy every day.

“I am so proud to work with such an amazing team.

“I’m particularly proud of the students who worked so hard last year and fully deserve the phenomenal results they achieved.”

Mr Knott, who is also the assistant principal, says his award shortlist follows news earlier this term that the whole department had been shortlisted for ‘Maths Team of the Year’ in the TES Schools Awards.

Chris Fairbairn, principal at The Totteridge Academy, said: “This award shortlist is well deserved and recognises the incredible impact that Tom has had on his students’ futures and attitudes towards their learning.

“We saw a tremendous improvement in just one year in our maths results.

“With this year’s exams underway, and with the same drive and determination that made the difference in 2017.

“We are very confident in another set of very strong GCSE results from students.”

In June, the Pearson Teaching Awards’ Silver Winners will be announced in schools and colleges across the country, with a celebratory Tea at the House of Commons on July 4.

The Gold Plato Awards Ceremony will take place in London in October and will be filmed and broadcast by the BBC.