Penybont Primary School teacher crowned ‘Teacher of the Year’ and lands a hat-trick for Wales at film awards

Bridgend County Borough Council would like to congratulate Penybont Primary School teacher Jemma Evans for scooping the coveted ‘Teacher of the Year’ accolade at the prestigious Into Film Awards.

Jemma is very enthusiastic about sharing her passion for film with her pupils and she is delighted that it will play a key role in the new Curriculum for Wales.

“I’m so happy to have won Teacher of the Year and to make it a hat-trick for Wales,” said Jemma.

“Now that film plays a really important role in the new curriculum, this recognition for myself and Penybont Primary School is really important in getting the message across to other teachers and schools that film can really make a huge difference to children’s academic attainment.  

"My love of film began in the 80s – with my dad regularly taking me to the video shop to rent movies and family trips to our local cinema. I truly believe in the power of cinema. Watching films can not only serve as a brief distraction from day-to-day life but also lets me develop new perspectives on life. I climbed Kilimanjaro to raise money for Tenovus Cancer Care and filmed the whole endeavour on my GoPro.

“Film is a precious way of recording memories and telling your own story. I can’t wait to get back into the classroom to continue to help my pupils grow, learn and have the confidence to tell their own stories so that others can hear them,” added Jemma.

The innovative teacher also received a message of congratulations from Welsh actor Rhys Ifans who praised her for using film “so inspirationally in the classroom”.

Well done to Jemma for winning such a meaningful award and for highlighting the high quality of teaching that we are fortunate to have in Bridgend County Borough.

Jemma and Penybont Primary School have shown that film can really engage pupils in the classroom and offer wider benefits to their learning as a whole. With the advent of the new curriculum from September, it will be interesting to see how film might be used elsewhere in the development of expressive arts. I’m sure Jemma will have inspired others!

Councillor Jon-Paul Blundell, Cabinet Member for Education