Colin Hegarty - world's best maths teacher?
A maths teacher who has created more than 1,000 videos to explain the subject to pupils is in the running to win a Nobel-style prize for teaching worth $1m.
The son of Irish parents from Clare and Mayo, Colin Hegarty has made it to the final 10 shortlisted for the second annual Varkey Foundation Global Teacher Prize, which recognises an individual who has made an outstanding contribution to the profession.
The winner is due to be revealed at a ceremony held at the Global Education and Skills Forum in Dubai next month.
Mr Hegarty, who teaches at Preston Manor School in Wembley, north west London, said he was "flabbergasted" when he learnt he had made the shortlist.
"They called me to tell me and I was a bit shellshocked. It's amazing."
Mr Hegarty said he had taken a keen interest in the competition last year - the first time it was run - and submitted an entry this year after it was suggested to him that he would make a good candidate.
"It's an amazing idea to get good news stories out there about amazing teachers," he said.
Mr Hegarty, 34, who became a teacher six years ago after previously working as an accountant for Deloitte, added: "I love teaching maths, ever since I changed career, I can't get enough of it."
The first in his family to go to university, Hegarty was brought up in a one-bed council flat in Kilburn by his builder dad and his mum, who worked as a home help.
"They were very ambitious for me and always told me that education was everything," he said
The maths specialist starting creating videos on the subject around four years ago, after an A-level student had to take time off to see his sick father and was worried about falling behind.
To help the student, Mr Hegarty put his maths lessons online. The student kept up with his studies, passed his A-level and is studying engineering.
Since then, Mr Hegarty has made more than 1,000 videos, which are freely available on the HegartyMaths YouTube channel for anyone to use and have collectively had around six million views.
They are used in various ways, such as by teachers who ask pupils to watch a video to explain a concept before it is put into practice in the classroom, or by students to understand an idea.
"I didn't make the videos to be a YouTube sensation," Mr Hegarty said. "It kind of snowballed. When I got a few positive comments it made me want to make more. "
After winning a UK teacher of the year award prize in 2014, Mr Hegarty is now taking a sabbatical to establish a dedicated website for his maths videos.
The site hegartymaths.com, developed with fellow teacher and Dublin native Brian Arnold, went live for around 70 schools last week. GCSE and A-level students have been closely involved in the project, helping on areas such as coding.
He said that if he wins the Global Teacher Prize, he will invest the money in the website.
"I would like to use it to make this website change maths education," he said.
The other nine finalists are drawn from around the world, including Pakistan, Kenya, Palestine, the USA, Japan, Finland, Australia and India.
The winner will receive $1m and be asked to serve as a global ambassador for the Varkey Foundation, attending events and speaking about their work.
But they will also be required to remain working as a classroom teacher for at least five years as a condition of winning the award.
Sunny Varkey, founder of the Varkey Foundation, said: "I want to congratulate Colin Hegarty for being selected as a top 10 finalist from such a huge number of talented and dedicated teachers.
"I hope his story will inspire those looking to enter the teaching profession and also shine a powerful spotlight on the incredible work teachers do all over the UK and throughout the world every day."
