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.

More about Phil

Joining Dudley College in 2012 Phil has become one of its best loved tutors for the passion for his subject which he communicates to his students. He frequently gives up his own time to organise student visits; including photography assignments globally to locations as diverse as Auschwitz, Iceland and India.

In recent years his students have produced photographic work for business including Handelsbanken UK and Dudley Zoo.  

Using photography to support charity is a particular interest and students have produced work in support of World Aids Day, Headway and Drug Awareness campaigns.

One of his most ambitious projects was to produce a Black Country Cook book which has sold hundreds of copies to raise funds for Dudley Mayor’s charities.

He said: “I’m so thrilled to have been awarded the Gold Award ! This is a real opportunity for celebration and I’m so happy and proud to share my success with the whole Dudley College of Technology community. I would like to thank everyone at Dudley College for enabling me to be so adventurous and to my students for the trust they place in me. Dudley College is a great place, which shows enormous faith in the potential of all young people and is willing to give them the support they need to achieve."