A LECTURER at Dudley College of Technology has scaled the heights to be named the best in the country.

Phil Brooks was chosen as the Further Education Lecturer of the year in the Pearson National Teaching Gold Awards.

The awards celebrate the work of Britain’s best teachers, and Phil has been recognised after getting ‘some of the best results in the country for some of its most deprived students’ throughout his career.

He was singled out among other award winners for going above and beyond to change the lives of their students and help them move towards a brighter future.

Aside from the academic he has arranged placements in Berlin, Spain, Italy and India for his students, has set up live magazine photoshoots so his students can work with renowned industry professionals, and leads on the regional ‘Living Memory’ project to promote Black Country art and history.

His work has been exhibited at the New Art Gallery in Walsall, as well as published in his own book 60 Degrees North.

The Birmingham-based Echo Eternal Project, which uses testimonies from survivors of the Holocaust to engage pupils directly with living history, was also a Gold Award winner.

Phil was personally congratulated by Education Secretary Gavin Williamson while

celebrated author and former Children’s Laureate Michael Morpurgo, President of the Teaching Awards Trust, said: “We have long known the impact that one superb teacher can have, the young people they can inspire and the lives they can change. But this past year has shown us all, more than perhaps ever before, the true value of teachers.”

The Pearson National Teaching Awards were established by Lord Puttnam CBE in 1998 and are managed by the Teaching Awards Trust, an independent charity.

Pearson are a global learning company with more than 24,000 employees operating in 70 countries.