“We were taught that our history begins with colonisation, whereas our ancestors have contributed greatly to humanity,” said South African novelist, poet and playwright Professor Zakes Mda at a virtual book launch dialogue hosted by the University of Pretoria (UP).

Professor Mda recently published two books, Arola: A Journey into 10 Ancient African Civilisations and Wayfarers’ Hymns.

“Arola is difficult to categorise because it is so complicated,” Professor Mda said.

 “The main aim of the book is to teach others about African history. The research process was not difficult or intense because the materials I am writing about are all accessible; some of them are even accessible online.

“We are taught to believe that African history begins only with the coming of the white man, and we call it ‘African history’, when in fact it is the history of the white man in Africa rather than African history,” he added.

“So I was keen to delve back centuries ago to look at the empires that existed then. History of these empires exist in museums all over the world, but scholarship has ignored material that was right in front of their eyes.”

Professor Tawana Kupe, Vice-Chancellor and Principal of UP, added to the conversation by placing emphasis on the University’s intention to educate individuals about their history. “We were not just people who were discovered – we existed before,” he said. “Our intention at UP is to teach people origins and histories of knowledge because, as Prof Mda said, when you are taught something only begins here, you are only being taught one history’s form of knowledge. You are also taught that you are not creators of knowledge. Another thing we would like to do at UP is situate Africans as knowledge creators.”

Moving from Arola to Wayfarers’ Hymns, Dr Nokuthula Mazibuko Msimang of UP’s Faculty of Humanities, who moderated the dialogue, described the novel as a “dramatic book about musical gangsters”.

“This book is centred on famo music, a popular genre of music in Lesotho,” Professor Mda said.

“The predominate instrument used in Lesotho is the accordion. Basothos [a collective term for native Sotho people] have turned the accordion and the concertina into Basotho traditional instruments, and have been creating famo music. This is a kind of music that is full of poetry, which is known as hymns, but these are circular hymns not religious hymns.”

Professor Mda went on to explain why he finds famo music and the culture surrounding it so interesting, and how this contributed to the conceptualisation of Wayfarers’ Hymns.

“I grew up in Lesotho, so I grew up listening to famo music. But I recently learned new things about this music. I learned that musicians also led gangs, so these musicians have evolved into gang leaders. Every weekend in Mafeteng, a city in Lesotho, there are funerals of musicians who have died in wars where they were fighting for territory and followers, but also fighting for [control of] illegal mining sites. The illegal mining that happens in Gauteng and Welkom is actually led by the musicians and leaders of these gangs. So I was fascinated to hear about this because I’ve never read about it, not even in newspapers.”

Zakes Mda was born in Herschel in the Eastern Cape in 1948 and studied in South Africa, Lesotho and the United States. He wrote his first short story at the age of 15 and has since won major South African and British literary awards for his novels and plays. His writing has been translated into 20 languages. Mda is a professor of Creative Writing at Ohio University.

* UP

NETFLIX’s comedy Sex Education, now in its third season, is set among a group of students and teachers at a British high school. In depicting sex education, it teaches viewers about sex and sexuality – often doing a better job than school-based sex ed classes.

In the first episode of season three, Dr Jean Milburn (Gillian Anderson) is interviewed on the radio about her new book, Uneducated Nation: A Sex Education Manifesto for Our Youth.

When the host asks her to tell him about the book, she replies she was “shocked at the ineptitude” of school sex ed classes. So she created this easy-to-read manual to help empower our teenagers, and their parents, as they become sexually active young adults. He responds, “Sounds a bit racy”. Jean retorts,

Well, if, by racy, you mean highly researched and completely essential to the health and well-being of our children, then, yes, I suppose it is.

Jean’s response could easily be applied to the television series itself – racy but essential. It could also be seen as a comment about how school-based sexual education programs could improve their communication of relevant information to curious teenagers.

We are part of an international research team working with scholars from Greece, Ireland and Norway to interview adolescents and their parents about their perceptions of harm in accessing sexual content.

As researchers with expertise in the fields of sexology, communication and media studies, we value the knowledge young people share about their own needs and desires.

Our research with teens – and into stories that represent their experiences – illustrates they are sexual beings who want and deserve sex-positive information. Too often, this positive side of sex is left out of the classroom.

Sexually provocative, but educational

Sex Education is one example of how stories in popular culture can portray teen sexuality positively.

For instance, the opening scene of this first episode of season three is upbeat, playful and sexy.

It cuts between at least 13 different moments of sexual pleasure: heterosexual sex, gay sex between young men, gay role-playing sex between young women, masturbating while watching porn, online sex, virtual reality sex – and the pleasure of reading a book while eating cheese puffs.

This sequence is sexually provocative, but it also educational. It shows a range of desires across ages (yes, teachers and parents have sex, too), races, sexualities and body sizes.

There are none of the messages about abstinence and fear often associated with representations of teen sex, and no coy curtain-wafting standing in for sex.

The premise of the show is the teenagers at Moordale High do not receive adequate sex education classes, so Jean’s son Otis (Asa Butterfield) and his classmate Maeve (Emma Mackey) set up a sex therapy service for their peers.

These young people seek information about how to overcome sexual difficulties and become better lovers. They find (usually) correct – and always frank – information from Otis and Maeve, who offer resources and advice.

Teenagers and porn

As we argue in a recent essay, this TV show complicates the idea that pornography is only harmful to teens.

Watching porn can be “a bit of fun”, to quote one character, but also a source of misinformation about sex. Sex Education debunks this misinformation, such as when one character mistakenly believes a large penis is required for sexual satisfaction, and another thinks her labia should be tucked in.

Teenagers as consumers and producers of pornographic and erotic narratives can use these stories, and the stories in Sex Education, to develop an understanding of sex and sexuality and supplement the information provided in school curriculum.

This seeming contradiction about pornography aligns with a report written by the Australian Institute of Family Studies about the effects of porn on young people.

This report highlights the lack of information about how young people access sexual content (unintentionally or intentionally); about the content of pornography they view; and about teenagers’ ability to distinguish between the fantasy pornography represents and the reality of their sexual experiences.

The report also found very few accounts from teens themselves about their experiences accessing sexual content online and any perceived harm from it. It points to a need for further research, which includes the voices of adolescents.

Teaching pleasure

Dr Jacqui Hendriks, who coordinates Curtin University’s sexology courses, believes sex ed should include discussions of pleasure rather than focusing primarily on reproduction.

At present, the quality of sex education varies widely across the nation, but in Western Australia, a group of researchers have identified the “need for a greater focus on positive sexuality and relevant contemporary issues” in the classroom.Sex Education challenges a commonly-held perception teenagers should be protected from the harms of sex and sexual material. The stories told by teens and about teens can be crucial tools to open conversations between children and adults about sex.

The conversation started by shows like Sex Education highlights the need for more comprehensive sexual education not only in schools but in communities and in the family home itself.

* The Conversation

SADTU has called on Eskom, the Department of Basic Education (DBE) and all other relevant authorities to urgently find a reasonable mechanism to reduce the adverse impact of load-shedding on the current National Senior Certificate examinations.

In a statement issued on Thursday, Sadtu spokesperson Nomusa Cembi said the Department of Basic Education should urgently consult with Eskom and, based on such consultations, respond accordingly to minimise the disruptions which cause collective trauma to both learners and teachers.

Cembi added that the current load-shedding by Eskom is having an adverse impact on leaners and students at this critical time of the academic year.

“The current situation, regardless of the reasons or circumstances under which it happens, adversely affect the right of learners to education and has a direct adverse impact on their emotional and psychological being,” said Cembi.

“In many other instances learners will be exposed to safety and security risks particularly in those instances where alternative arrangements are made to enable them to study and prepare away from their homes.”

Sadtu has also called on the Department of Basic Education to put in place measures to ensure that learners and students who arrive late for their examinations and who require electricity supply to conduct examination are not prejudiced.

“We also call on the Department of Basic Education to afford all learners who have missed their examination as a result of load shedding to be afforded an opportunity to write those examinations during this examination session,” said Cembi.

“We further call on the government to investigate the allegations that the technician ignored the red light warning of low oil that led to the tripping three days before the elections. It is our considered view that this was a sabotage to support the call for the firing of the ESKOM board and those who are dealing with the rot that was characterising ESKOM.”

On Thursday, Eskom announced that Stage 2 would be implemented from midday and that power cuts would end on Friday at 5am.

Earlier this week, Eskom implemented Stage 4 and later Stage 3 load shedding to allow the utility to fully replenish its emergency generation reserves.

“While Eskom regrets the escalation in load shedding, it is necessary to ration the remaining emergency generation reserves, which have been utilised extensively this morning as we are not getting the reduction in demand as expected from the implementation of Stage 2 load shedding,“ it said at the time.

“It was anticipated that an additional seven units would have returned to service by Monday, and this has not materialised. Further, a generating unit at Arnot power station tripped, contributing to the shortages.”

* Inside Education

ZIMBABWE’S junior motocross champion rider. Emmanuel Bako, buried himself in glory on Saturday after he was crowned the 85cc Pro Mini Champion of the 2021 Northern Regions Motocross Championship series in South Africa.

The 14-year-old dirt bike rider stormed to the title after another convincing win during the sixth round at Legends track in Pretoria.

The St. John’s College pupil won all the six rounds of the series whose races were held at different venues in the Gauteng Province.

He finished season with another stellar performance in the 85cc Pro Mini Class in which he was just untouchable at the Legends track where he lifted his first major motocross title, since he started racing in that country, at the tender age of six.

Bako fired the early warning shots by winning both heats in the 85cc Pro Mini Class in style to claim the first step on the podium ahead of his South African rivals Ryan Adler and Bester Cobus.

The 85cc Pro Mini Class had a good field of 14 riders.

Saturday’s race meeting was also a pre-national event where some of South Africa’s top junior and senior riders got the feel of the track at Legends.

Bako was on fire on as he first took a hole shot in Heat One and never looked back until he finished first.

In Heat Two, Bako failed to take a hole shot but on the second corner of the first lap he was leading again, riding his brand new 2021 KTM, which was sponsored by Better Brands Jewellery of Zimbabwe, with aplomb.

The exciting Zimbabwean rider punched the air with delight when he crossed the checkered flag and was joined in celebrating this sweet victory by his father and manager, Brighton.

“Emmanuel has put in a lot of hard work to archive this considering he had to balance school and racing every weekend of his life in South Africa,” said Brighton.

“God has and is still doing wonders in his life.

“As a parent, I think I have done the best for him and I will still do the best for him. I will also pray to God for Him to guide him. He has worked so hard and it has paid off.

“We would like to thank Peter Raaf, the bike mechanic, and Emmanuel’s main sponsors, Fuchs Silkolene Zimbabwe and Better Brands Jewellery, for the support they give us.

“The 2021 regional championship in South Africa has gone to a Zimbabwean rider and it’s a blessing. “South Africans would have loved to have the championship won by one of their own but guess what, Emmanuel said no and he vowed to take it to Zimbabwe.

“It was an amazing race on Saturday on a well prepared track. He was so confident and is now itching to race in the next race, which is the final round of this year’s South African Nationals, and will be held on November 20 at Legends track again.”

* The Herald

FATEMEH AMINPOUR|

CHILDREN account for a large proportion of new infections in Australia’s current COVID-19 outbreaks. This has raised concerns about their safe return to school.

As schools in New South Wales and Victoria resume face-to-face learning, children under 12 will be more vulnerable to COVID-19 infection since vaccination of this age group hasn’t started in Australia (although they are less likely to get seriously ill).

Face masks are not mandatory for these students either, but are mandatory for secondary school students in Victoria and in NSW.

Therefore, physical distancing and use of outdoor spaces for school activities top the list of recommendations to keep children safe from COVID-19.

However, physical distancing, even outdoors, can be hardly practised if the school is overcrowded. Overcrowding is common in Australian schools, which are increasingly accommodating more students. This issue has been recognised as a significant barrier to children’s free activities, especially during recess and when they are on the move.

In NSW, for example, the required open space per student is 10 square metres and nearly all schools meet this standard. While this seems to allow a fair amount of room for physical distancing, children may nevertheless believe their schools are overcrowded and don’t offer enough room for play.

While demonstrating physical distancing, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson and school children stand on asphalt, a surface that children dislike, which leads to crowding in areas they prefer. Andrew Parsons/No 10 Downing Street, CC BY-NC-ND

Why does this happen? Do children use school grounds in ways that we don’t anticipate?

My PhD study conducted in three public primary schools in Sydney reveals children’s use and perception of school environments differ from what adult designers intended. Children dislike and avoid some of the school ground spaces designed by adults.

Large parts of school grounds, including covered outdoor learning areas, are covered with low-quality asphalt on which children are not allowed to run and cannot sit comfortably.

The “no running on concrete” rule restricts children’s intense physical activity to areas covered with grass or synthetic rubber. The problem is these areas are often not big enough for the numbers of children who want to use them, resulting in crowding.

Adding to the problem is the “out of bounds” rule, which bars children from using areas that are out of sight of staff. These areas are often around the edges of school grounds because staff tend to supervise children from the central parts of the school. Out-of-bounds areas are underused yet could provide extra space for children’s physical, social and dramatic play.

So, how can school design and planning help overcome the crowding that makes physical distancing difficult?

1. Provide quality material for ground surfaces

By replacing asphalt with better quality surface materials, children’s activities can be spread out across more of the school grounds, easing crowding. This will reduce the impact on children’s physical activity of the “no running on concrete” rule.

In a recent study, we found natural grass is children’s favourite surface for activities like running or performing gymnastics. It doesn’t become too hot in the sun, isn’t slippery and doesn’t hurt if they fall.

2. Increase opportunities for nature play

Besides the known benefits of nature play for children’s well-being, natural settings usually attract smaller groups that may result in less crowding. This contrasts with spaces such as sports fields where large numbers often play together.

My recent research shows children prefer trees with wide canopies, accessible branches, upraised roots and/or soft trunks because they offer sensory stimulation and opportunities for co-operative play.

3. Recognise the value of neglected areas

Out-of-bounds areas at schools are often neglected based on the questionable assumption of their low value for children’s play. Making better use of these spaces can disperse children over the whole school area and enhance their opportunities for safe play.

Children may also find these spaces quiet and less busy since they are typically secluded and partially segregated from sanctioned areas. Less noisy spaces make it easier for children to talk with each other, which is a significant part of their socio-dramatic play.

4. Create separate zones

School layouts can be designed to establish separate zones that offer suitable secluded spaces for various groups, or cohorts, of students in order to avoid crowding. A cohort is a distinct group that stays together for the entire school day for in-person learning, with little or no contact between groups.

“Cohorting”, also known as “podding”, allows for more efficient contact tracing in the event of a positive COVID-19 test result. Targeted testing, quarantine and isolation can be applied to a single cohort/pod rather than schoolwide closures in the event of an individual or group testing positive.

5. Use nearby community/public spaces

Schools can locate the extra space they need on nearby community/public open spaces when the local council and the Department of Education reach a joint-use agreement. Children’s safe use of these sites depends on:

the quality of these facilitiestheir location in the neighbourhoodease of walking there to and from schoolaccess during school hours.

Sharing neighbourhood facilities can help meet children’s need for access to broader recreational resources. It also strengthens the social bond between schools and their communities.

Overcrowding in Australian schools is not a new issue yet could be an obstacle to safe face-to-face education at a time when it is desperately needed.

Current concerns about COVID-19 outbreaks at schools can prompt policy and institutional redesign to tackle this longstanding problem of overcrowding.

Children and school communities should be engaged in the earlier phases of school design and planning to tap into their unique insights into the effectiveness of educational environments.

(Fatemeh Aminpour is the Associate Lecturer, School of Built Environment, UNSW)

The Conversation

UMALUSI believes rolling blackouts across South Africa due to load shedding may have a negative impact on the 2021 matric results.

Grade 12 pupils are in the process of writing National Senior Certificate exams and currently have to contend with stage 2 load shedding throughout this week, until 5am on Saturday.

This after Eskom implemented Stage 4 load shedding expected to last until Friday morning while Stage 2 blackouts will be implemented until five o’clock on Saturday morning.

Speaking to NewzroomAfrika, Umalusi CEO Mafu Rakometsi said load shedding would affect the quality of the exams as well as the results.

“Load shedding will negatively impact on the results. If students are not able to study adequately, then that is a problem,” said Rakometsi.

“I want to say that people are not equally sighted in terms of how they can see and immediately you have to write in a dark room. That situation is going to affect the students differently. [They] might struggle to go through the question papers and struggle to write because they are writing in a room that [isn’t] well lit.”

Gauteng Education MEC Panyaza Lesufi said 15% of matric exam centres in the province have been affected by blackouts.

Lesufi said while the department was prepared for the blackouts, if it continued, matric results could be badly affected.

“I can say 15% of our examination centres have been affected because it comes and goes at different times, we’ve got papers in the morning, we also have papers in the afternoon,” said Lesufi.

“So it has affected us but as I said we’ve incorporated it, but the sooner we get past this stage of load shedding the better because it will generally affect the outcome of the results.”

Public Servants Association (PSA) in KwaZulu-Natal has called on government to deal with the load shedding crisis.

The Department of Basic Education said on Monday it had contingency plans in place to ensure the latest bout of rolling blackouts won’t impact the matric exams.  

The department’s spokesperson Hope Mokgatlhe told Jacaranda FM news that there’s a plan B should load shedding disrupt exams.

“What we have said as the department and we always say so that the nation and the parents can be at ease, is that if it happens that learners cannot write because of a power outage, we have backup papers. We are talking about grade 12 here, in fact, all grades that are writing exams now- we have backup papers all the time,” said Mokgatle.

“So we want the nation and parents to know that as the department, our plan B is that if it happens that learners cannot write because of something we cannot control like a power outage, they will write at another time. We will have a backup paper so they will not be disadvantaged because as the department and as the government we work together knowing that there are things that we cannot really foresee.”

* Inside Education

A 53-year-old principal from Mooifontein Primary School in Zastron, in the Free State, has succumbed to gunshot wounds.

Andile Ketso was shot by unknown suspects in Zastron.

Free State Department of Education said Ketso started the teaching profession in 1992 and was a Physical Science teacher at Lere-La-Thuto Secondary School before he was promoted as a principal.

The Free State Education Department has shared its condolences with the family members, learners and colleagues of a school principal who was gunned down at Zastron in the Free State.

Spokesperson, Howard Ndaba says the Department has lost a dedicated teacher who always strived for quality results.

Ndaba also condemned violence at schools, and called on all management teams, school governing bodies, and learners to strengthen school safety and build relationships with police.

“We want to take this opportunity to convey our sincere condolences to the family of Andile Ketso who’s a principal at Mooifontein Farm school in Zastron. Mr Ketso was gunned down and the suspects and motive for his killing are still unknown. He was a very dedicated educator who’s teaching physical science, he joined the department in 1992,” says Ndaba.

He further added that Ketso was a very dedicated principal and educator who joined the Education Department in 1992 as a junior teacher.

Last month, Dr Granville Whittle, deputy director-general at the basic education department, told parliament the national school safety framework remained their primary strategic response to school violence.

“It is based on a social ecological systems model, which locates the school within its broader community. It relies on collaboration and partnership. South Africa joined the Safe to Learn global campaign to end violence in schools, in partnership with Unesco and Unicef,” he said.

The education department said its partnership with the departments of justice and social development ensured improved vetting of teachers and other staff, and the establishment of a national school safety steering committee with related government departments and social partners to better coordinate safety interventions.

Whittle further said that in collaboration the department has also embarked on interventions aimed at addressing hotspots for most at risk schools.

Some of the measures include improving the built environment, such as considering learner safety when planning school infrastructure, as well as closure of taverns and liquor outlets in close proximity to schools, in partnership with the Department of Trade and Industry, SAPS and South African Local Government Association (SALGA).

The measures also include search and seizures in partnership with SA Police Service (SAPS) and the provision of security guards to schools at risk.

The SAPS said school based crime prevention would be intensified and that the collaborative agreement with DBE would be revised in order to make it more effective. 

THE South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) says that a significant number of primary schools around the country remain on rotational timetables, with many schools also applying to keep a rotational timetable in place in 2022.

The reason for the rotation is a directive from Minister of Cooperative Government and Traditional Affairs (Cogta) minister Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma providing that social distancing measures in primary schools should be maintained at one meter, the commission said.

The SAHRC said it has also been made aware that most schools in the Western Cape (86%) have applied for rotational timetables for the 2022 academic year.

“The commission holds that rotational learning has a long-lasting negative impact on learning outcomes for children and, as the Ministerial Advisory Committee on Covid-19 (MAC) advice states, that the harms of learners attending school on a rotational basis – specifically the severe cognitive, nutritional, and psychosocial costs – exceed the benefits of reduced Covid-19 infections from smaller class sizes.

“The Cogta directive compromises the ability of primary schools – where the very foundation of learning takes place – to return to normal teaching and learning, notwithstanding reduced transmission and virus acquisition rates among teachers and learners in these schools as the majority of educators have been vaccinated and due to the low acquisition risk profile of primary school learners.”

The SAHRC said that it agrees with the MAC that all primary schools should open at full capacity.

The commission said it has now written to the basic education minister, the health minister, and the Cogta minister to call for an urgent meeting to discuss the termination of rotation in primary schools.

“This would essentially mean that the Cogta minister needs to amend her directive by deleting the 1-meter social distancing requirement in respect of primary schools.

“We will also discuss the return to normal schools for high schools, in view of the fact that the Department of Health has commenced with the Covid-19 vaccine rollout for 12-year-olds,” the commission said.

* Business Tech

PROFESSOR Bonang Francis Mohale was officially inaugurated as the eighth Chancellor of the University of the Free State (UFS) on Friday.

He took up his five-year term in June 2020 and has served in the role for the past 17 months. Prof Mohale takes over from Dr Khotso Mokhele, who served as Chancellor of the UFS from June 2010 until June 2020.

Prof Mohale is the President of Business Unity South Africa (Busa), Professor of Practice in the Johannesburg Business School’s College of Business and Economics, Chairman of both the Bidvest Group Limited and SBV Services.

According to the UFS he is a highly respected South African businessman, known as much for his patriotism as his active role in seeking to advance the country’s interests. He is the author of the best-selling book, Lift As You Rise, launched in November 2018. The book is a compilation of some of the spoken and written words in which Prof Mohale reveals the issues that he is passionate about – among them leadership, transformation, people development, constructive collaboration, and integrity.

Prof Mohale emphasised that the challenges facing higher education were linked to the broader challenges facing South Africa, namely, poor economic growth, high youth unemployment, and the paralysing effect of the “nine wasted years” of state capture.

“The student protests and service delivery protests are a symptom of many societal ills and failures. While government may have had the resources – financially and technically – to map a way forward for the higher education sector, its ability to implement is severely constrained by insufficient capacity,” said Prof Mohale.

“The fundamentals of future higher education institutions should be values such as respect, empathy, equality, and solidarity that support and prepare learners for life, to be better citizens, to be more aware of their societal and civic responsibilities and role in the environment and not only for livelihood.”

David Noko, Chairperson of the UFS Council, said that the council appointed the right person for the job, the right person for this university, in this country, at this particular time. “The values that Prof Mohale embodies, which he is known to advocate from various platforms – in written media and virtual spaces – and which he actively lives out, are the values that the UFS cherish and embrace. Values such as respect, empathy, equality, solidarity, diversity, and caring.”

In congratulating Prof Mohale, Prof Francis Petersen, Rector and Vice-Chancellor of the UFS, acknowledged the contributions he made.

Compiled by Sazly Hartzenberg

A Liverpool teacher said he was “shocked and humbled” to be down to the final 10 of the world’s best teacher award which carries a $1m prize.

The Varkey Foundation Global Teacher Prize, in partnership with Unesco, recognises exceptional teachers.

David Swanston, 34, has made it through to the final shortlist after 8,000 nominations from 121 countries.

Keele University student Elliott Lancaster has also been named in the final 10 shortlist for a new award.

Mr Swanston is the deputy principal at St Vincent’s School for children with sensory impairments in West Derby.

“The children are very excited we’re in the final,” he said.

“I say we because it is a team effort, it is for the whole school, the pupils and the staff.”

‘Exceptionally proud’

Originally from Falkirk in Scotland, he said he was “destined to be a teacher” having been “inspired” by his PE teachers as a child.

He has already received recognition for his impact on visually impaired communities by being named the gold winner in last year’s Pearson National Teaching Awards.

Along with the principal, Mr Swanston helped set up Sightbox which provides sport and education tools for visually impaired and blind people.

He said he would use part of his winnings to boost the charity, which has been rolled out in more than 20 countries.

“If I win, I hope to provide more items and remote resources and send it to more countries and the scope for children to come to St Vincent’s,” Mr Swanston said.​

“It is a basic concept but it makes a significant impact to visually impaired and blind people.”Many of Mr Swanston’s students have gone on to participate in further education, employment and the Duke of Edinburgh Awards, while one has competed in the Paralympic Games.

“I am exceptionally proud of them,” he said.

Congratulating Mr Swanston, Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi said he was “incredibly grateful to him for his innovation in supporting children and young people with visual impairments, helping to ensure they can thrive at school, including through sport”.

Mr Lancaster, a postgraduate student at Keele University in Staffordshire, has also been named in the final 10 shortlist for the Chegg.org Global Student Prize 2021, which has a $100,000 prize.

The 24-year-old, who is originally from Alfreton in Derbyshire, has been selected for his campaigns for mental health, social enterprise, sustainability and a solution to homelessness alongside his studies.

Mr Lancaster said it was “incredible and humbling” to be recognised for his community work and if he wins he will use the money to set up a “sustainable student network” to address global issues, such as climate change, hunger and digital poverty.

A virtual ceremony for both awards will take place at Unesco’s headquarters in Paris on 10 November.

Ranjitsinh Disale, from India, was crowned last year’s best global teacher and shared his winnings with the nine runners-up.

Andria Zafirakou, from London, became the UK’s first winner in 2019.

* BBCNEWS