Larbert High School languages teacher up for national Teacher of the Year award

Kirsty McLaren was nominated for the award by a parent at the school, Cara Welsh.

Cara says that Mrs McLaren has done a huge amount to support her daughter with languages during recent exams:

“My daughter is in the fourth year and was really struggling with German and feeling quite down about it. We had a parents’ evening with Mrs McLaren and told her about this and straight away, Mrs McLaren volunteered extra time to help my daughter and offered her strategies for learning vocabulary.

“Prior to the exams, Mrs McLaren contacted me to invite my daughter into school to attend additional classes and I know this is something she did for many other students too, across French, Spanish and German. Larbert is a huge school with many students, and it meant so much that Mrs McLaren took that time out of her own day to help my daughter and many others to do their best in their exams. It shows that they’re not just a number.

“When it came to the speaking exam, my daughter was really nervous but I had a call from Mrs McLaren that night to tell me that she was so proud of her. I know that Mrs McLaren has been teaching for many years, I think she was actually at Larbert High School when I was a pupil there, but what is wonderful is that she still has the passion and enthusiasm for teaching. It’s lovely to have a teacher who is genuinely celebrating your child’s achievements.

“Mrs McLaren is really positive in the way she communicates and is so supportive, telling my daughter that she can do it. This has boosted my daughter’s confidence in German, but that confidence has also transferred into other subjects. She’s looking at her other subjects with new eyes now. And after the extra support my daughter has had with learning German, languages are now back on the table as a possible subject for further study. That wouldn’t have happened before.

“Knowing a teacher has your child’s best interests at heart is so reassuring. Mrs McLaren is an asset to Larbert High School and thoroughly deserves to be Teacher of the Year.”

Jo Wilson, Acting Rector at Larbert High School said: “We are delighted that Mrs McLaren has been nominated for Teacher of the Year. She has worked at Larbert High School for over 25 years and throughout that time she has been extremely committed to our young people, consistently going above and beyond to ensure pupils feel confident and are successful in their learning.

“As Principal Teacher of Languages, she strives to ensure that all pupils have positive, creative learning experiences not only within her classroom but across the faculty. Mrs McLaren goes that ‘extra mile’ to ensure pupils are developing skills that will help shape their future. She is an incredible asset to our school and I’m thrilled that she has been nominated.”

A number of other teachers at schools in the Falkirk district have received nominations for Teacher of the Year, including Wallacestone Primary School, Comely Park Primary School, Shieldhill Primary School, St Francis Xavier’s Primary School, Braes High School and St Mungo’s High School.

It is free for people to nominate their Teacher of the Year and all types of teachers are eligible including primary and secondary school teachers, higher education teachers, early years teachers and special educational needs teachers in the UK. The Teacher of the Year competition runs until August 31 and the winning teacher will be announced in September.

The teacher who receives the most votes will be crowned as Teacher of the Year in the national competition. The Teacher of the Year, and their school, will each win a £500 Town & City Gift Card, such as the District Towns Gift Card. One person who nominated the Teacher of the Year will also win a £250 local gift card.

Stefanie Paterson, Assistant BID Manager at Falkirk Delivers, said:“We love this story from one of our local high schools, of a teacher who is so dedicated and invested in the success of her students.

"Teachers are working hard each and every day to support their students, and the Teacher of the Year competition is our chance to bring these stories to the fore, so we can show our appreciation for all types of teachers, from high school languages teachers to primary school teachers, college tutors to early years teachers. It takes just two minutes to nominate a teacher and I’m sure it would mean the world to them to know they’ve been nominated.”

Miconex’s local gift cards can be spent with local businesses, encouraging a ‘shop local’ ethos and locking spend into local economies.

Colin Munro is the managing director of Miconex and said:“The Teacher of the Year competition is designed to bring recognition to teachers like Mrs McLaren who are going above and beyond to instill confidence, help students achieve their best and create enhanced opportunities for their future. Congratulations to Mrs McLaren and Larbert High School for their nomination. Keep on voting for your Teacher of the Year.”

The Teacher of the Year competition is sponsored by group collecting platform GiftRound. Founded in 2018, GiftRound gives people an easy way to collect money for various occasions, including end of term gifts. Town & City Gift Cards are available to buy on the GiftRound store.

Craig Forsythe, CEO & founder at GiftRound, said: “We’re delighted to sponsor the Teacher of the Year competition so we can bring recognition to the many hard working teachers across the UK and Ireland. Teachers’ gifts are amongst the most popular collections on GiftRound so we know how appreciated teachers are by parents and children.

"We hope that people take this opportunity to nominate a teacher that has made a positive impact on their child’s education or their school community, and we look forward to celebrating with the winner of the Teacher of the Year in September.”

Nominate a teacher in the Teacher of the Year competition at teacheroftheyear.co.uk