THE Principal of Cranmore Integrated Primary School, Ms Helen Farrimond, has been nominated for a Lifetime Achievement Award in the prestigious 2006 Teaching Awards.

Ms Farrimond, who lives in Annahilt, has been Cranmore's only Principal since the school started 13 years ago and was one of the school's founders.

With 30 years of experience in the world of education, her staff decided it was time she was recognised for her dedication to Cranmore and to its pupils, and nominated her for the award.

When she heard that she was nominated for the award, Ms Farrimond said she was very surprised. "I was embarrassed and humbled but also delighted," she said.

She will now travel to the awards ceremony at the Waterfront Hall in Belfast on Thursday June 15, where she will join teachers and principals from schools throughout Northern Ireland to celebrate this recognition of educators in the province.

"I am very much looking forward to the awards ceremony," continued Ms Farrimond. "The teaching profession doesn't always get the chance to celebrate its successes but at the end of the day we provide children with a very strong, stabilising environment in what is at times an unstable community.

"Schools become a stabilising influence in children's lives. They become a refuge; an oasis of calm.

"Frequently teachers aren't given much praise for what they do but this is an opportunity to recognise everything that teachers do for children."

After 30 years as a teacher and school principal, Ms Farrimond still dearly loves the job she does and she is determined that her nomination for a lifetime achievement award will not mark the end of her career. "I am just doing my job; a job I adore," she said. "It is a privilege to be a teacher and a head and to be able to influence children's lives," she concluded.

Ms Farrimond will find out if she has won the prestigious award when the winners and finalists awarded distinctions and commendations are announced at The Teaching Awards 2006 Northern Ireland Ceremony.

The event will be hosted by BBC Newsline presenter, Donna Traynor and attended by local dignitaries and education professionals, as well as children from finalists' schools. Caroline Evans, Chief Executive of the Teaching Awards said: "The Teaching Awards celebrates the work of outstanding headteachers, teachers, teaching assistants and governors - the people who make a difference to children's achievement, aspirations and opportunities.

"The Teaching Awards ceremony is an opportunity to witness the skill, devotion, passion and professionalism that they bring to their work, and to thank them for the important contribution that they make."

Ulster Star
09/06/2006