A steadfast teacher of Portuguese with a record of putting her students first has been recognised in London with the 2025 Portuguese Teacher Award.

Lídia Silva was chosen for her significant contribution to Portuguese language education and promotion in her school and community, the Portuguese Cultural Association of Bermuda announced.

The annual award, which celebrates excellence in developing the language in Britain, the Channel Islands and Overseas Territories, was presented at a ceremony hosted by the Portuguese Embassy in London on July 11.

The association is partnered with the Camões Institute of Co-operation and Language, IP, which is responsible for promoting the Portuguese language and culture worldwide.

The Portuguese Teacher Award 2025 is given by the British branch of Camões, IP, in partnership with the Association of Teachers and Researchers of Portuguese Language in Britain and Lidel Editora, an academic publisher in Portugal.

Ms Silva told The Royal Gazette: “I was delighted when the team of Camões read out my name for the best Portuguese teacher award 2025 — also, in the moment, I thought to myself all my hard work and dedication paid off.”

Nuno Brito, the Portuguese Ambassador to Britain, attended with Cátia Verguete, the co-ordinator of Portuguese teaching in the UK and the Channel Islands, and Richard Ambrosio, the chairman of the Portuguese Cultural Association of Bermuda, along with students and teachers.

Ms Silva was presented the award by Manuel Grainha do Vale, the Consul-General of Portugal in London; Helder Macedo, emeritus professor of Portuguese at King’s College London; Sofia Martinho, associate professor of Portuguese at the University of Leeds and president of the Association of Teachers and Researchers of Portuguese Language in Britain; and Isabel Simões Rodrigues, the 2024 award recipient, also a teacher of Portuguese at King’s College in London.

Mr Ambrosio gave the awardee “our warmest congratulations”.

He added: “She is a tireless professional who puts her students front and centre in her work.

“We are pleased for this international recognition, which validates much of what the association and parents connected to the school have long known about her.”

Mr Ambrosio noted that anyone within the “rich and active network” of Portuguese teaching in higher education throughout Britain was eligible for the award.

“I hope that this can be a point of departure for a deeper promotion of the Portuguese language,” he said.

Ms Silva holds a bachelor’s degree in romance language and literature, specialising in Portuguese and French, from the University of Madeira, with a diploma in primary school education from the University of the Azores.

She taught in her native Madeira as well as Portugal and London before coming to Bermuda in 2021.

The Portuguese Cultural Association of Bermuda said that, as a charity, it “critically depends on the generous support” of the public to keep its programme active.

Donations can be made via the Butterfield account 20006060707516100.

• To learn about the association’s language classes, see the its website or e-mail info@portugueseBDA.com