Hucknall teacher wins war education accolade

Teacher Alex Hughes (right) receives his specialist award.

Alex Hughes, of the National Church Of England Academy, has been named as a specialist leader in World War One education.

It mneans he is one of the most respected experts on the conflict throughout the UK.

Delighted Alex, who works within the humanities faculty at the Annesley Road academy, said: “I hope to continue to develop and help others to understand such a significant part of our country’s history.”

Explaining how he came to land the award, he said: “In the summer of 2015, I was accepted to enter a programme run by University College London (UCL) to work towards it.

“Since then, I have completed a number of projects to demonstrate innovation in my teaching of the war, not only in the classroom but also while on curriculum trips to the battlefields.

“As a result, I have worked on developing a battlefield tour that focuses on how the Great War affected the people of Nottingham.

“I have also developed a series of lessons about the role of the USA in the conflict, and I have assisted on other battlefield tours.

“This work has included designing activities for students from six different countries in the celebrations of the 100th anniversary of the battle of Amiens.”

Last month, Alex finally heard he had been fully accredited by the programme and by UCL, and went to the Tower Of London to officially receive his award.

Jackie Heath, acting principal at National, said: “All the staff and governors at the academy are very proud of his achievement.

“We are honoured to have such a specialist educator working with our students on this important subject. Being one of only a few genuine experts in this field of education is a real coup.

“This superb accolade demonstrates his knowledge and passion for the subject, and we are delighted to share this success.”

Stundets from National visit the First World War battlefields every year to put their classroom learning into context.