2000 Winner
Alison Moore
Alison Moore is undoubtedly Britain’s bravest teacher. The 31-year-old mother was beaten unconscious by racist thugs and left for dead in the grounds of the south London school where she works.
She spent a week in hospital, suffering from internal bleeding, broken ribs and a cracked pelvis. But that was not the end of her torment, merely the beginning.
When Alison returned to work at Sandhurst Junior School in Catford, as she was determined to do, an abusive and threatening card was pushed through her letterbox at home.
Police installed a panic button and security camera. But a few weeks later, Alison disturbed a masked man trying to climb in through her kitchen window.
Racist slogans and a Nazi swastika had been daubed on the walls outside. The distraught teacher and her seven-year-old daughter Elide were moved to a secret “safe house,” and enjoyed a year free of harassment.
But last October, Alison was woken at 4.30am by her smoke alarm. The racist thugs had tracked her down and started a fire through the letterbox. Alison suffered from post traumatic stress as a result and still battles insomnia – she’s often just too scared to sleep. Her attackers have never been caught.
Many people would have given up and packed it all in. Not Alison. Throughout he has continued to teach at Sandhurst. She says: “I love teaching. The children will always come first. I never considered leaving – it is a brilliant school and I am perfectly happy there.
“The children were affected by what happened. I needed to show them that it doesn’t matter what people do as long as you are in the right.”