TRAFFORD headteacher Darren Morgan has won a major national teaching prize and been shortlisted for a Headmaster of the Year Award.

Darren Morgan of Kings Road Primary, Firswood, was presented with a Pearson Silver Training Award during a school assembly on 16 June.

The award is given to just 56 winners chosen from over 4,000 nominees from across England, Ireland and Wales.

Stretford and Urmston MP Kate Green, who made the presentation, said: “I couldn’t be prouder that we’ve got one of the very, very top headteachers in the country teaching our children, our most precious asset. Darren’s funny, he’s engaging, he’s warm. He’s a real people person and I’m delighted he’s been recognised in this way. He’s really putting Kings Road Primary School on the map."

In October Darren and his fellow Silver Award winners will now go to the UK final of the Pearson Teaching Awards in London. He will join five other finalists in the ‘Headteacher of the Year in a Primary School’ category. The event, entitled 'Britain’s Classroom Heroes', will be filmed and broadcast by the BBC.

Receiving his Silver award, the 42-year-old headteacher said: “I’m overwhelmed. I feel so lucky to come to work every day to be surrounded by the most remarkable children and supported by the most talented staff. All I want is for every single child in this school to have a love of learning, to follow their dreams and to reach for the stars.”

The Pearson Teaching Awards are awarded annually. They are open to all schools in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Established by Lord Puttnam CBE in 1999, they celebrate excellence in education and are managed by the Teaching Awards Trust, an independent charity.