Local Head Teacher voted community hero

After launching a competition to mark its 40th anniversary, bus operator Stagecoach received hundreds of nominations to recognise unsung community heroes.

Jo Campbell, Head Teacher at Ore Village Primary Academy, was voted the South East regional community hero for her work at the school and her commitment to the community.

Jo said, “I'm really proud to work alongside this community. Over the last few months we have been so impressed with how the children, staff and parents of Ore Village Primary Academy have pulled together to create a safe, happy learning environment, where the children have continued to thrive."

The country’s biggest bus and coach operator was inundated with nominations from every area it operates services - from Exeter in the South West to Aberdeen in the North of Scotland, and asked for help from the public in choosing each regional winner. Over 2500 votes were cast, and Jo was chosen out of two other nominees to become the South East Stagecoach Community Hero.

Joel Mitchell, Managing Director for Stagecoach South East, said: “We were overwhelmed with the fantastic entries we had for our community heroes competition, and we had some great examples of people pulling together to support each other during the pandemic.

“Our congratulations go to Jo, who was voted the well-deserved people’s choice winner in our region. Jo is clearly valued by her colleagues and held in high regard within her community. The work she has undertaken to bring children, parents and staff together during these difficult times has been really appreciated as well as her passion towards the teaching and learning of the pupils and a desire for everyone to be their best.”

“There is clearly a huge amount of incredible work taking place in the communities we serve and we’d like to congratulate all the nominees and pay tribute to our local community heroes and all of our colleagues at Stagecoach locally for the valuable role they have played in making it the company it is today.”

Jo Campbell, Head of Ore Village Primary Academy.