Hugh Jackman paid tribute to teachers as “real superheroes” as he announced a Brit has made it to the final of the Global Teacher Prize.
Personal social health education (PSHE) teacher Andrew Moffat from Parkfield Community School in Birmingham is in contention for the one million US dollars (£765,607) award.
The Hollywood star revealed the top 10 for the Varkey Foundation Global Teacher Prize 2019 in a video.
In it, he said: “When I was a kid there were lots of superheroes that I wanted to be.
“But I can tell you right now, from where I stand, with all my experience, the real superheroes are teachers – they’re the ones that change the world.
“My favourite uncle was a teacher, my sister’s a teacher, my brother’s a teacher and I have always felt the most important job in the world is teachers.
“My hope for every single person on the planet is that you have at least one.”
He added Lisle Jones was the most influential acting teacher he had, who told him: “You’re good. Don’t get me wrong, it’s fine, it’s OK. But what you need to do is to let go and trust.”
Jackman added: “All of us go through insecurity and doubt, trepidation along this journey of life, and those teachers that see the best in us and are patient enough to allow us to grow into that, they are like gold.”
At Moffat’s school, more than nine in 10 students speak English as an additional language and his No Outsiders programme teaches inclusiveness and diversity.
He has extended this ethos to parents through the use of parent/child workshops, and cities across the UK are also using the programme.
Moffat also runs a Parkfield Ambassadors after-school club that creates opportunities for children at his school – where 99% of students are Muslim – to meet people from different races, religions and cultures around Birmingham.
The winner of the Global Teacher Prize will be announced at the Global Education and Skills Forum in Dubai on March 24.
The other nine finalists teach in Georgia, Brazil, the Netherlands, India, America, Argentina, Australia, Japan and Kenya.