Judging process

Our judging process is designed to be comprehensive, fair, and transparent, based on the judging criteria for each Prize. There will be one winner per prize, and each winner will receive a full-paid membership for a year in our Best School to Work programme. The five winners will be selected by our Judging Academy based on the judging criteria for each Prize. In addition, we will give a “Community Choice Award” to any of the fifty Top 10 shortlisted schools that received the highest number of votes in the Public Vote.

1. Application review

Narrowing down the Top 10 shortlists

After applications are reviewed for eligibility, they are evaluated by a Screening Committee established by T4 Education, alongside an advisory board of education experts and leaders. These evaluations are based on the judging criteria specific to each Prize. Once a longlist has been proposed for each Prize, we conduct further due diligence and we invite those schools to an online interview to dive deeper into their expertise and gather more information to support their application. After the interviews, we narrow down the Top 10 shortlists for each Prize.

2. Judging academy vote

Deciding the five winners

The Judging Academy comprising leading figures around the world reviews the evaluation packages and votes to determine the winner of each of the five Prizes.

Introducing the community choice award

The Community Choice Award is a special exclusive recognition open to the Top 10 Shortlisted schools for all five World’s Best School Prizes. It is awarded to the school that receives the most votes in the Public Vote, regardless of whether the school also wins one of the five World’s Best School Prizes or not. The winner receives a membership to T4 Education’s new Best School to Work programme

Advisory Board

We are proud that the World’s Best School Prizes have been conceived and designed by teachers and education experts.

Armand Doucet

Teacher at Riverview High School, Canada

Maggie MacDonnell

Winner of the Global Teacher Prize in 2017, Canada

Vandana Goyal

COO at Avanti Fellows & former CEO of Akanksha Foundation Schools, India

Judging academy

The winner of each Prize is chosen by our Judging Academy made up of distinguished leaders across the globe. Meet the Judges.

Aashti Zaidi

Founder & CEO, Global Schools Forum, UK

Abang Brian

Celebrity Chef, Malaysia

Abhinav Kumar

Chief Marketing & Communications Officer, Global Markets, Tata Consultancy Services, Belgium

Alanood Alkaabi

Education Programs Manager, Education Affairs Office, Presidential Court, UAE

Alberto Lidji

Founder, The Do One Better Podcast and Knowledge Hub, UK

Alison Bellwood

Founder & Director, World’s Largest Lesson, UK

Want to be the first to hear about our prizes and how to apply? Join the T4 Community and you’ll get all the info you need alongside a wealth of resources and professional development opportunities.

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