7 May 2021

A teacher from one of Melbourne’s Catholic secondary schools has been recognised for excellence in teaching history.

Rachel Towns, a teacher from St John’s Regional College, Dandenong, was the 2021 recipient of the Award for Special Contribution to the Teaching and Learning of History from the History Teachers’ Association of Victoria (HTAV). The award recognises a commitment to teaching history and supporting teachers to promote the study of history.

‘When you’re a secondary teacher, you pick a teaching method because it’s an area that you love teaching’, said Rachel. ‘If you’re passionate about your subject area, it becomes more than a day job.’ In addition to her teacher and literacy coach roles at the college, Rachel has contributed to a number of texts as part of the history curriculum, presented for the HTAV and recently published a book to support the VCE Texts and Traditions curriculum.