Andria Zafirakou, MBE

Andria Zafirakou, a teacher at Alperton Community School in Brent, won $1 million when she was crowned the best teacher in the world.

Andria was born in north-west London to Greek-Cypriot parents and state-educated in Brent and Camden.

She is an art and textiles teacher in Brent on the outskirts of London, one of the world’s most ethnically diverse places. She is passionate about education and changing the lives of young people and underserved communities through creativity.

She has worked her entire teaching career of 15 years at Alperton Community School is now an Associate Deputy Headteacher leading on Staff Development and Transitions.

Using the prize money awarded by the Global Teacher Prize, Andria founded a charity called Artists in Residence (AiR) with an aim to improve arts education in schools.

Andria has also been named in the top ten of The Evening Standard's 1000 Londoners List. She is a Culture Leader for the World Economic Forum as well as a member of their Global Future Leaders Council.  Andria sits on the Advisory board for the Cultural Leaders Alliance, Art UK and was the winner of the prestigious GIWA (Greek International Women's award) for Arts and Culture in 2021. Her debut and best selling book “Those who can, Teach” was published by Bloomsbury in April 2021.