WE are delighted to be announcing the finalists in this year’s Worcestershire Education Awards today.

Nominations poured in after we launched the awards in January and it was incredibly difficult to narrow them down to a shortlist of just three for each category.

There were so many deserving nominees and reading through each description of skill and hard demostrated how fortunate we are in Worcestershire to have so many talented teachers, leaders and support workers and so many great schools, colleges and other education organisations.

Our number one aim with these awards is to shine a light on the passion and dedication of our education workers in the county and, really, just being nominated is a triumph because it shows that their efforts have been recognised by others.

So without further ado, here are our finalists:

Primary School of the Year

• Fort Royal Community Primary School

• Gloverspiece School

• Meadows First School

Independent School of the Year

• Abberley Hall School

• Bowbrook House School

• Gloverspiece School

Secondary School of the Year

• Hanley Castle High School

• New College Worcester

• Ipsley CE RSA Academy

College or Post-18 Education & Training Provider of the Year

• Heart of Worcestershire College

• The Rivers Teaching School Alliance

• Worcestershire Group Training Association

Early Years Education Provider of The Year Award

• Abbey Park First & Nursery School

• Worcester Early Years Language Centre

• Unitots Nursery

Community Involvement Award

• Discover History

• Heartstart Malvern

• Worcestershire Apprenticeships

Special Education Needs Award

• Julia Husband, Hanley Castle High School

• Mencap Worcester Education & Employment Service

• Dawn Morris, Wishing Well Nurseries

Support Staff of the Year

• Anna Chilvers, Bengeworth CE Academy

• Triskya Loxley, Pershore High School

• Pastoral Team, St Bede's Catholic Middle School (Academy)

Newcomer of the Year

• Liam Allibone, Gloverspiece School

• Harvey Robinson, Bowbrook House School

• Abi Taylor, Stanley Road Primary School

Unsung Hero Award

• Kevin Beck, Regency High School

• Justin Thomas, Young Gloves Karate

• Angela Wood, Newbridge Short Stay Secondary School

Heateacher/Principal of the Year

• Vivienne Cranton, Black Pear Trust

• Lynne Duffy , Gloverspiece School

• Jacqui Le Maitre, St Mary's Catholic Primary, Broadway

Teacher of the Year

• Wes Davis, Worcester Sixth Form College

• Dave Green, Pitmaston Primary School

• Greg Satterley, Bengeworth CE Academy

For the finalists, they now have the awards ceremony – held at the University Arena on the evening of Wednesday June 20 – to look forward to, and we can’t wait to see them there.

Although the awards are organised by the Worcester News in partnership with the University of Worcester, they wouldn’t be taking place without the many organisations who have sponsored the initiative and those individuals who took the time to nominate- so thank you to everyone for your support and making the Worcestershire Education Awards now very much a fixture on the county’s calendar.