The UNIVERSITY of Worcester’s provost and deputy vice chancellor has been recognised with an MBE in the King’s Birthday Honours.
Ann Jordan, who began her career as a primary school teacher before joining the university as a teacher educator, has been recognised for outstanding services to the education of children and teachers.
She said: “I was both surprised and delighted to have been given this award. I have thoroughly enjoyed every aspect of my career, working with so many children, students and professional colleagues over so many years.’’
Ann’s entire career has been devoted to ensuring that children, including those from socially deprived backgrounds, enjoy a first-class education. Having spent her early career in primary schools in various leadership roles in the North and in the West Midlands, she joined the University of Worcester in 1995 as a teacher trainer working with both primary undergraduate and post graduate trainees.
Ann led the Primary Partnership for a number of years working with over 400 schools before going on to become the deputy head and then head of the university’s Institute of Education. In recent years she became university provost and deputy vice chancellor.
Under her guidance the Institute of Education developed and flourished, and this provided the foundations which led to the university’s teacher education being judged to be outstanding by Ofsted in 2023.
Ann is a passionate advocate of the value of education for children across the board, including in the most deprived areas of the country. It was this passion and belief which led to the university working closely with Stoke-on-Trent for school improvement when the city’s schools were regarded as in need of vital leadership support. Thanks to the work of Ann and her colleagues over several years, significant improvements were recorded.
Professor David Green, the University of Worcester’s vice chancellor and chief executive, added: “Ann Jordan is one of the UK’s top teacher educators. Many hundreds of children benefitted from Ann’s highly professional, inspirational teaching while many thousands have benefitted from the teaching of the generations of new primary teachers Ann has educated and inspired.
“Ann is now a wonderful provost and deputy vice chancellor at the University of Worcester where she ensures our work on academic quality, student support and educational development remains first class, nationally and internationally leading. Ann thoroughly deserves this national honour which is a marvellous accolade and recognition for her lifetime of service, dedication and outstanding professionalism.”
