The Big People's Choice Award Celebration 2025

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Celebrating Portsmouth's people's choice award nominees

The Teach Portsmouth Awards is one way we recognise school and college staff who go above and beyond the call of duty.

The people's choice award gives Portsmouth a voice by enabling the community to nominate someone who has supported their children and young people. This year, over 100 nominations were received, breaking an all-time record!

To celebrate, we hosted a dedicated event to recognise everyone who had been nominated for a people's choice award at Boathouse 4 Restaurant in Portsmouth Historic Dockyard on Thursday 24 April 2025 from 4pm - 5:30pm.

Nominees enjoyed afternoon tea and an opportunity to network with colleagues. The Lord Mayor of Portsmouth, Councillor Jason Fazackarley hosted the event alongside Mike Stoneman, deputy director, education and Councillor Nick Dorrington, Cabinet Member for Children, Families and Education at Portsmouth City Council.

Attendees also received a certificate of excellence to mark the occasion. We would like to thank everyone who attended the event. You can now view a gallery of images.

About the venue

Boathouse 4's sawtooth roof is instantly recognisable within the landscape of Portsmouth Harbour. The building has been repurposed for the 21st century with exhibition space and a restaurant.

The restaurant hosted over 90 nominees who each received a certificate of excellence in recognition of their work. Guests enjoyed afternoon tea and an opportunity to network with colleagues.

The venue is based within Portsmouth Historic Dockyard and has a long history as a centre for education.

About the format

Attendees were welcomed by the Lord Mayor of Portsmouth Councillor Jason Fazackarley, the Lady Mayoress, Mike Stoneman, deputy director, education and Councillor Nick Dorrington, Cabinet Member for Children, Families and Education.

A series of speeches followed, as nominees from each school were called up to receive their certificate of excellence.

After closing remarks, attendees went outside Boathouse 4 for a photo with everyone to mark the occasion.

Top questions

What is the Teach Portsmouth Awards?

The Teach Portsmouth Awards celebrate the achievements of Portsmouth's school and college staff across 12 award categories. The event will take place at Portsmouth Guildhall on Thursday 12 June from 6pm - 9pm.

The people's choice award is the only category that allows the public to nominate in. The Teach Portsmouth Awards relies on the goodwill of local organisations through sponsorship to make the event possible.

Can I nominate someone for the people's choice award?

Nominations have now closed for the people's choice award. Nominations opened in December last year for three weeks. Over 100 nominations were received by members of the local community. This included parents/carers and school staff who have gone above and beyond the call of duty.

When will the shortlist for the people's choice award be announced?

Teach Portsmouth will be contacting school's W/C 28 April to let them know whether their staff have been shortlisted. If an individual is shortlisted, we will ask you to notify the individual and for a photo to be supplied.

The photo and their information will be used in a double page spread inside The News on the weekend of 10/11 May. Their information may also be featured online. The Teach Portsmouth website will also be updated with the shortlist for all award categories.

When will the winner be announced?

The winners for all award categories will be announced at the ceremony on Thursday 12 June at Portsmouth Guildhall. The shortlisted nominees each receive one ticket each with their school receiving two. While we are not currently offering additional tickets for +1s, we will be operating a waiting list for tickets. This is done on a first come, first served basis. To reserve a ticket, please email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

More from the Teach Portsmouth Awards

Discover the south's largest education awards event at Portsmouth Guildhall on Thursday 12 June from 6pm - 9pm.

Join us as we celebrate the achievements of Portsmouth's school and college staff across 12 award categories.

With the help of local organisations who have sponsored the event, we will showcase individuals/teams who have gone above and beyond the call of duty.

Find out more