G.Britain: 90-year-old teacher honored for six decades of teaching Greek
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G.Britain: 90-year-old teacher honored for six decades of teaching Greek

Christoforos Cartoudis, a retired Greek teacher, has been awarded the British Empire Medal in the Queen’s Honours List for dedicating six decades to teaching Greek.  He has taught over 5,000 pupils during his time as principal at the city centre’s Apostolos Andreas Greek School.

The 90-year-old, who was principal at the Summer Hill Terrace school until he retired this summer, has taught up to three generations of some families. And despite retiring, he still volunteers at the school, which he has pledged to serve for the rest of his life.

“It was getting a bit tiring for me so I had to retire. But I still help out regularly and my heart will always be there, it will always be part of my life” said Christoforos.

He said he was “overwhelmed” when he discovered he had been chosen to receive the award.

“It was the best feeling in the world. What an honour. I have been teaching Greek for over 60 years now and I am passionate about keeping the language alive. I have taught thousands of pupils and they have all given me so much joy” he added.

Over 500 people packed out the Greek Orthodox Cathedral of St Andreas for a special ceremony held to celebrate the father-of-one’s achievement – including Birmingham’s Deputy Lord Mayor Coun John Lines, Lord Lieutenant of the West Midlands Paul Sabapathy and His Excellency The High Commissioner of Cyprus Euripides Evriviades. He has been invited by the Queen to attend a garden party at Buckingham Palace next summer to mark the award.

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