​​​​​​​National Teacher Prize Spain 2026

Last Wednesday, 20 October 2026, the National Teacher Prize, promoted by Amazon and Amazon Web Services (AWS) together with the Varkey Foundation, held an event at the Fundación Ortega-Marañón venue in Madrid, dedicated to recognising those who are transforming education from the classroom.

• The awards recognised one teacher per category, from Primary Education to University, and were complemented by honourable mentions for outstanding teachers.
• The award winners have formed a teaching community that is already preparing a book of ideas for teachers, and the organisers are already working on the next edition.
• The National Teacher Prize is the Spanish counterpart of the Global Teacher Prize, the award for the world’s best teacher, widely known as the “Nobel Prize of Education”.

Six teachers, one per category, received the awards for their commitment to educational innovation, inclusion and the use of technology, from Primary Education to University. Each prize carries an award of €2,000 and was presented during the event “The Future of Education in the Age of Technology”.

The awards were presented by Ángel Luis González Serrano, Chair of the Jury and a Vocational Education and Training (VET) teacher selected as one of the world’s top 50 teachers in the Global Teacher Prize 2025, the international counterpart of the National Teacher Prize.

Alongside the six winners, the awards granted honourable mentions in each category to other teachers whose projects stand out for their quality and impact. It is a way of broadening recognition and giving visibility to educational initiatives that, from every corner of Spain, are building a more innovative, accessible and inclusive education. Because teaching talent does not always make the headlines, but it deserves to be known, shared and celebrated.

The ceremony was also attended by members of the jury, including José Rodrigo Cerrillo Patiño, Director General of Vocational Education and Training at the Regional Government of Castilla-La Mancha; Rosa Visiedo Claverol, Vice-President of CRUE Universidades Españolas (the Conference of Spanish University Rectors); Paula San Luis, Director of CaixaBank Dualiza; and Sandra Camós Bataller, Director of Educational Programmes at the Princess of Girona Foundation.

The winners

• Primary Education – Óscar Del Estal Martínez (Escola Splai, Barcelona).
  He teaches English in Barcelona’s lowest-income district, where 50% of pupils are vulnerable. Through projects such as We are English, his pupils create educational videos for their classmates and families. 100% of his Year 6 pupils passed the regional Basic Competences assessment in English, compared with a regional average of 86.6%.
   
• Secondary Education – Ricardo Aguado Vallejo (Colegio Juan de Lanuza, Zaragoza).
  He combines service-learning, maker culture and digital wellbeing in his “Human Technodivergence” approach. He created the MagicSTEAM platform, which connects code with physical devices, and has grown his MakerSpace from 4 to around 80 students a week. His inclusive robotics project has reached more than 240 people.
   
• Vocational Education and Training – José María Pérez Ramos (IES Alonso de Madrigal, Ávila).
  After 15 years at technology companies, he works with his students on real social projects using the SCRUM methodology, bringing together Basic, Intermediate and Higher VET students in a single team. Projects such as EyeSense apply artificial intelligence and computer vision to improve communication for people with disabilities.
   
• University – Ignacio Fernández Portero (University of Extremadura).
  A specialist in language teaching from an inclusive education perspective, he trains future teachers in the critical use of generative AI. He combines gamification, virtual reality and service-learning in projects such as Aulas del Futuro (Future Classrooms) and Neuroaventura multilingüe (Multilingual Neuroadventure), which he takes into schools.
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• Technology-Focused VET – Miguel Ángel Ronda Carracao (CPIFP Alan Turing, Málaga).
  He turns his classroom into a space for applied research, with projects such as Androide Roto (Broken Android), which repairs devices for vulnerable families, and IRIS, an AI-powered app to help prevent gender-based violence.
   
• Technology-Focused University – Manuel Ibáñez Arnal (CEU Cardenal Herrera University, Valencia).
  He has launched a master’s degree in artificial intelligence and additive manufacturing applied to product development. His students work on real-world challenges, from the initial idea and CAD design through to simulation, prototyping and the technical defence of the final result.

Honourable mentions

Honourable mentions went to Elena Gozálvez Landete (CEIP José Lloret Talens, Almansa) in Primary Education; Cristina Mateo Sánchez (Colegio Montessori Zaragoza SchoolHouse) in Secondary Education; Gloria Iniesta Martínez (IES Lorenzo Hervás y Panduro, Cuenca) in Vocational Education and Training; Manuela Domingo Pozo (University of Alicante) and Mireia García Roselló (CEU Cardenal Herrera University) in University; Juan Torres Mancheño (IES l'Estació, Ontinyent) in Technology-Focused VET; and Santos Pardos Gotor (San Jorge University, Zaragoza) in Technology-Focused University.

A growing teaching community

The awards do not end with the ceremony. Winners and honourable mentions have created their own community and keep in touch through a WhatsApp group, where they share educational ideas and propose new initiatives.

The first is already under way: a book of inspiring ideas for teachers, written by the award winners themselves. In addition, several of the winners have applied for the Global Teacher Prize, the international award also promoted by the Varkey Foundation, whose application period has just closed.

The organisers are already shaping the next edition of the National Teacher Prize, with the aim of continuing to give visibility to the teachers who are transforming education in Spain.

About the National Teacher Prize. The National Teacher Prize, organised by Amazon and AWS together with the Varkey Foundation, recognises teachers across Spain for their contribution to educational innovation, inclusion and the integration of technology into learning.

The awards are part of Amazon and AWS’s Commitment to Technology Education in Spain. More information here.