'Pioneering' Harrogate school teacher in contention for Teacher of the Year award
An "inspirational” Harrogate teacher is thrilled to be in the running for the Teacher of the Year award.
Dr Davina Kirby, Head of Science at Harrogate Ladies College, has been named a Teacher of the Year finalist in the 2025 TeenTech Awards, a national scheme which seeks to encourage students to create innovative tech-related project which impact communities locally or globally.
The nomination is public recognition for a school which has promoted STEM (science, technology, engineering, medicine) subjects after introducing a pioneering Women in Science and Engineering (WiSE) programme in 2022.
In addition, the school has been named a TeenTech Centre of Innovation and Creativity with two of its pupils also being named finalists in the Best Research Award category.
Harrogate Ladies College’s Principal, Mrs Joanna Fox, said. “We are very proud to receive this accolade, which is testament to the outstanding work of our incredible staff and pupils.
“We are proud of our record of championing careers in STEM for our pupils, which we promote through our innovative WiSE programme.”
A total of 42% of the school’s 2025 university offers were in STEM-related subjects, with careers in Paramedic Science, Veterinary Science, Mechanical Engineering and Medicine insight for the current Year 13 cohort at Harrogate Ladies’ College.
Of the four entries submitted in The TeenTech Awards by Harrogate Ladies’ College Year 12 pupils, two were awarded gold.
One of those projects, completed by Anya Soranaraksopon and Tamara Pohronska, has been named a national finalist for the Best Research Award out of over 250 submissions.
Anya and Tamara created plans for a portable Kidney Profusion Machine and will attend an awards ceremony in London where the winners will be announced.
Judges praised the Harrogate Ladies College students’ project for being potentially “world changing”.
“The product is highly ethical,” said the judges.
“It has great potential to make a real difference in the field of organ transplantation,”
"If built it will save many lives and is also targeted at lower income regions. It uses biodegradable material.
“This would all be truly world changing.
"It’s fantastic creative and big picture thinking.”
Information: https://www.hlc.org.uk/