The PE department at Priory School in Lewes is one of three departments in the running for The PTI's £5,000 Bernice McCabe Award, decided later this month.

The PE department at Priory School in Lewes has been shortlisted for a national teaching award worth £5,000.

The education charity The PTI, previously known as the Prince’s Teaching Institute, has named the department as one of three nominees for its 2026 Bernice McCabe Award. The winner will be announced at a ceremony later this month.

The other two nominees are both English departments, at schools outside Sussex.

The three departments on the shortlist

  • PE Department, Priory School, Lewes
  • English Department, Hinchingbrooke School, Huntingdon
  • English Department, Thomas Tallis School, Greenwich

Priory School’s PE team is the only department on the list that does not teach English.

What the award is for

The PTI says the award “celebrates excellence in subject leadership in schools, recognising departments that put quality subject teaching at the heart of the classroom.”

A £5,000 prize and a trophy go each year to “an exceptional department which demonstrates the ethos and values of The PTI through their work within and beyond the curriculum”, according to the charity.

The award is named after Bernice McCabe OBE, the founding co-director of The PTI, who died in February 2019. The charity says she “believed in the transformative power of inspiring subject teaching.”

What The PTI says

Dr Cat Scutt MBE, chief executive of The PTI, said:

“The Bernice McCabe Award celebrates the exceptional teachers and departments who demonstrate the transformative power of great subject teaching.

“Their expertise, dedication and passion for their subjects can inspire young people, deepen their understanding and open up new possibilities for their future. We are delighted to recognise this year’s shortlisted departments and to celebrate the teachers whose commitment to their subjects and their students makes such a lasting difference.”

Who The PTI is

The PTI describes its work as inspiring “teachers and school leaders to become more effective, enthusiastic and influential by putting subject-centred teaching at the heart of schools.” It runs professional development for teachers, which it says helps them “become experts in their subjects and pass on a love of learning to their students.”

The charity says money from Postcode Lottery players means it can support every nominated and winning school, “providing them with the necessary skills, tools and resources to deliver excellent lessons for their students.” Postcode Lottery players have raised more than £1,533,000 for The PTI since 2018, according to the charity.

The Lewes Post will report the result when the winner is announced.