A Cardiff primary school teacher has been awarded Teacher of the Year 2019 for her outstanding work at Lakeside Primary School, Cyncoed.
Holly Buse, who teaches Year 5 at Lakeside, was recognised for her efforts as part of the Twinkl Awards 2019 run by the international educational resource publisher, Twinkl.
Teaching staff from across the UK were asked to nominate their colleagues for the awards by providing testimonials about the impact they have had on their school and pupils. 
Holly won ‘Teacher of the Year’ after her friend and colleague, Rachael Evans, submitted a heartfelt nomination of Holly.
Rachael wrote: “Holly is the teacher I admire the most. Her energy, her passion and her organisational skills are admirable. She was once a pupil in our school, and now she holds her own amongst her former teachers.
“Her class found out yesterday that she will follow them up from Year 5 to Year 6 – and I have never heard a louder cheer!
“A beautiful soul, inside and out, and a fantastic teacher, who gives her all and then some.”
The inaugural awards received nearly 400 nominations from across the UK for categories including ‘Teacher of the Year’, ‘Best Teaching Assistant’, ‘Best Office Staff Member’ and ‘Best Manager’.
Speaking about her win, Holly said: “Thank you to Rachel Evans for nominating me. Her kind and thoughtful words brought a tear to my eye.
“I am incredibly lucky to work in the Primary School that I once attended as a child with some teachers who taught me!
“I am very fortunate to now work alongside these inspirational teachers and teach wonderful children who make school a very happy place to be. I feel privileged to love my job.”
Due to the incredible success of the event this year, Twinkl will now be making its teaching awards an annual event.
Jonathon Seaton, Co-founder and CEO of Twinkl, said: “It’s always great to give recognition to dedicated and passionate educators like Holly, who are the lifeblood of the UK education system.
“The awards were a wonderful way for us to celebrate the amazing work of UK teaching staff and we were inspired by the nominations sent through to us.
“The positive reaction to this year’s flagship event has been overwhelming and we can’t wait to spotlight even more fantastic teaching staff again in 2020.”
For more information about Twinkl and its resources and services, please see the website.
