'Education is the most powerful tool we have to tackle prejudice' – John Naples-Campbell, depute head teacher at Glen Urquhart High School in Highland Council, has been nominated for the educator award at this year's Proud Scotland Awards
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A Highland teacher has been nominated for a national accolade at the Proud Scotland Awards.
John Naples-Campbell, depute head teacher at Glen Urquhart High School in Highland Council, has been nominated for the educator award at this year's Proud Scotland Awards.
The educator award is awarded to an individual who has played a role by helping support the LGBTQ+ community in breaking down barriers through educating others.
Mr Naples-Campbell has been nominated for dedicating his life to making every classroom in every school a safe and secure environment for learners no matter their gender or sexuality.
He was the first teacher to be given professional recognition by the General Teaching Council (GTC) for Scotland for his work in LGBT education.
He created one of the first gay straight alliances at a school at Knox Academy in 2008, where the pupils won a documentary contest for their work in educating others about LGBT rights.
Working for The Time for Inclusive Education Campaign, he has developed resources and training for teaching staff and has delivered this training to more than 500 teachers across Scotland.
Before moving to Highland Council, he worked in Moray where he supported four secondary schools in celebrating Pride, enabling the schools to embrace the diverse communities they serve.
Mr Naples-Campbell said: "‘I’m really honoured to be nominated for this award. It’s been a challenging time in education but to know that the work we are doing to support young lesbian, gay,
bisexual, transgender and queer students in our schools is being recognised and acknowledged by these awards is special."
He continued: "Section 28 still hangs over Scottish education- we are breaking away from that terrible time slowly but we must still continue to challenge misinformation and dated opinions about LGBT education in order to make sure that our curriculum and schools fit the 21 st century. "Education is the most powerful tool we have to tackle prejudice."
The other nominees in the educator award category include: Gary Graham, Jacqui Forbes, Russell T Davies and Sarah Ross.
The award ceremony will take place in Edinburgh on October 2 2021; hosted by Channel 4 ‘It’s a Sin’ actor, David Carlyle.
