The first award was the Margaret and John Kalman Teaching Prize 2019. This is awarded by the University of Auckland for excellence in the teaching of mathematics and statistics at secondary school level.
The award recognised Mr Bairstown's production of e-books, digital games and the creation of a large content website, and his willingness to share these resources through his website and through The BestMaths Charitable Trust. All BestMaths resources are free. Mr Bairstow has attended conferences and workshops around New Zealand and overseas to demonstrate and distribute these resources.
The second award was the NZAMT (the New Zealand Association of Mathematics Teachers) Ernest Duncan Award for Teaching Mathematics.
This award is made in recognition of a teacher's outstanding contribution to the classroom teaching of mathematics.
Mr Bairstow won the award for his innovative Instagram page about mathematics. The page has daily posts of interesting facts and figures about mathematics, and the creation of worksheets about the items, posted for teachers to use in their classrooms. Follow it now: @thebestmaths
