Scottish Catholic Observer

A teacher at an Edinburgh Catholic school has been nominated by one of her pupils for a local hero award.

Lesley-Ann Baird, a depute head at St Augustine’s High (above) was put forward for the teacher of the year category by S6 pupil Dionne McFarlane.

The awards are run by the Edinburgh Evening News and recognise achievement in a number of categories.

“I’m very honoured and very touched,” Ms Baird said. “Dionne said some months ago that she was going to put me forward but I thought nothing of it.

“I love my job and I get a great sense of satisfaction from it. I’m quite obviously not in it for nominations or awards but it’s fantastic to be thought of by my pupils.”

S6 student Dionne said her teacher puts pupils’ safety and welfare first before anything else and that she ‘doesn’t just give advice and leave you to it, she will be there and support you when you require it.’

“Ms Baird is also very easy to talk to,” she added. “She is very compassionate and you can tell she really cares about the pupils by the quality of support she gives.”

The modern languages teacher has been at the school for 16 years has been involved in pupils’ extracurricular activities and arranged for Polish students at the school to be able to take Polish as a subject and sit an exam in their own language.

The local hero awards are open to anyone living in Edinburgh and winners will be announced at a ceremony on June 5.

To nominate someone for an award, visit www.localheroaward.co.uk

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