In this series of articles, we are introducing our amazing sponsors who have made the anticipated Teach Portsmouth Awards event possible.

Find out what Kier, this year's sponsor of the community and collaboration award, told us about what the Teach Portsmouth Awards mean to them.

The Teach Portsmouth Awards recognise the achievements of education professionals in schools, colleges and organisations across the waterfront city. This year we'll be celebrating Portsmouth's star teachers, support teams and leaders at a virtual awards ceremony on Thursday 8 July.

In this article we caught up with Mark Norris, regional director at Kier, to find out about their company and what the awards mean to them as a sponsor. 

Could you tell us what you do and what connection to education you have?  

Kier is one of the UK's leading providers of school buildings, delivering over £5 billion worth of educational facilities in the last decade.

We design and build schools for early years, primary and secondary education, and also maintain and provide back of house services to schools and colleges across the country.

In the last 12 months, we have handed over 75 schools and we're currently on site building 97 schools and colleges, including Mayfield School in Portsmouth where we are delivering a three-storey 9422m² building which will cater for over 1,200 primary and secondary school children as part of the Department for Education's Priority School Building Programme. When complete, the school will provide 74 classrooms, a spin studio, modern arts amenities and a revamped pre-school nursery. It will also feature a dedicated innovation laboratory – enabling pupils to problem solve and hatch new ideas in a purpose-built space. 

What does the Teach Portsmouth Awards mean to you/organisation? 

The Teach Portsmouth Awards is a fantastic event to recognise the outstanding work of teachers and school support teams during this challenging year. We are proud to be supporting the Teach Portsmouth Awards which recognise the efforts of schools across the Portsmouth community.  

What are you looking forward to from the awards ceremony?

It will be fantastic to see local heroes recognised for the outstanding work they have done to support pupils in what has been an exceptional year due to COVID-19.  

What special message do you have for Portsmouth's teacher, support teams and leaders?

A massive thank you for your hard work and commitment over the past year and for finding new ways to educate future stars.