A pair of Lanarkshire teachers have been nominated for an education award, thanks to the impact they had on a pupil's life.
Lauren Sinclair was so inspired by the work of Fernhill High teachers Alan Gillespie and Ruth Ross that she is now set to study music at a prestigious college in America.
To thank them, she has nominated Alan and Ruth for the Claes Nobel Educator of Distinction award, which recognises teachers for both their teaching skills and the impact they have as a role model.
Lauren wrote: "Mrs Ross was my music teacher who helped me to build my confidence so that I could do what I love. She helped me overcome the fears I had surrounding music and performing. Without her support and constant nudges out of my comfort zone, I wouldn’t be going to college for music, or have the confidence I have today."
She also wrote: "Mr. Gillespie helped me to unleash my creative side when it came to writing. I was never good at grammar or spelling, but he pushed me to improve in these areas, which helped me greatly. He helped me to gain confidence when it came to public speaking and had a massive impact on how I write now."
Lauren moved to America after her fifth year at Fernhill and has now been accepted to the Honors College at University of Wisconsin Oshkosh.
Ruth, who is the head of year for S6 in music at Fernhill, admitted she was surprised but delighted to learn about the award.
She told Lanarkshire LIve: "It's been lovely to hear about. You always hope you leave a good impression on pupils and can make a difference to them, but it's rare that you actually hear something like this. She said we'd given her much more confidence because she was a shy girl, but with a beautiful voice.
"Over the years we got her performing solos and then performing before the whole school. I remember so many people being surprised when she sang, because they had no idea just how good a singer she was - I was saying to them 'I've known for years, she's a great singer!'
"It is a nice recognition for not just me and Alan but the whole school because we try and put everything into our lessons and help them to be the best they can be. It came totally out the blue for us."
The Claes Nobel Educator of Distinction award is named in honour of Claes Nobel, the senior member of the family that established the Nobel Prizes.
Mr Nobel strongly believes that educators play a pivotal – and under acknowledged – role in preparing students for success in school and in life. In that spirit, they created the Educator of Distinction program to honour and reward exemplary teachers, counsellors and administrators.
Teachers are then nominated through the National Society of High School scholars.
