An evening with Peter Tabichi, winner of the 2019 Global Teacher Prize

An evening with Peter Tabichi, winner of the 2019 Global Teacher Prize Join us to hear from Peter Tabichi, a science teacher and Franciscan Brother who gives away 80% of his monthly income to help the poor. His dedication, hard work and passionate belief in his student’s talent has led his poorly-resourced school in remote rural Kenya to emerge victorious after taking on the country’s best schools in national science competitions. This lecture will be followed by a drinks reception. About the speaker Peter teaches at Keriko Mixed Day Secondary School in Pwani Village, situated in a remote, semi-arid part of Kenya’s Rift Valley. Here, students from a host of diverse cultures and religions learn in poorly equipped classrooms. Their lives can be tough in a region where drought and famine are frequent. 95% of pupils hail from poor families, almost a third are orphans or have only one parent, and many go without food at home. Drug abuse, teenage pregnancies, dropping out early from school, young marriages and suicide are common. Turning lives around in a school with only one computer, poor internet, and a student-teacher ratio of 58:1, is no easy task, not least when to reach the school, students must walk 7km along roads that become impassable in the rainy season. Peter started a talent nurturing club and expanded the school’s Science Club, helping pupils design research projects of such quality that 60% now qualify for national competitions. Peter mentored his pupils through the Kenya Science and Engineering Fair 2018 – where students showcased a device they had invented to allow blind and deaf people to measure objects. Peter saw his village school come first nationally in the public schools category. The Mathematical Science team also qualified to participate at the INTEL International Science and Engineering Fair 2019 in Arizona, USA, for which they’re currently preparing. His students have also won an award from The Royal Society of Chemistry after harnessing local plant life to generate electricity. Access Profile There is step free access into the lecture theatre. Wheelchair accessible toilets can be found on Level 4. There is not fixed furniture within the lecture theatre. This venue does not have working a hearing loop facility availabile. BSL interpreters can be organised with advance notice. We aim to make our events as inclusive as possible so if you have any accessibility requirements or enquiries that are not covered in the above access profile please contact the events team at [email protected]. If you could contact us allowing for as much time as possible before the event we will be able to ensure where required the appropriate measures are taken. More information about the venues accessibility can be found on the AccessAble website. Join the conversation on Twitter with #TeacherPrize and @IOE_London. Please note photographs and recordings taken at this event may be included in future publications or on the UCL Institute of Education's website. If you do not wish to be included in any IOE media, please opt out by contacting us at [email protected]. For information on other upcoming IOE events please visit: http://www.ucl.ac.uk/ioe/news-events/events