PORTLAND teaching assistant Janet Tizard was ‘absolutely surprised’ to be presented with a prestigious regional award by her work colleagues.

Mrs Tizard has been named Teaching Assistant of the Year in the South West by the 2012 Pearson Teaching Awards.

Her colleagues at Royal Manor Art College held a surprise presentation to reveal that her short-listed entry had beaten a record number of nominations.

Mrs Tizard will now join other winning teaching assistants, headteachers, teachers and school teams from across England, Wales and Northern Ireland at a prestigious UK Ceremony in London this October, which will be aired on BBC2 this autumn.

Each nomination to the Pearson Teaching Awards was received in the form of an online Thank You message to a teacher who had made a real difference and considered by a judging panel.

Mrs Tizard, of Easton, was nominated by no fewer than eight students.

She said: “I was absolutely surprised, I didn’t have any idea at all the presentation was happening.

“There was quite an undercover operation between my boss, line manager, headmaster and husband to keep it all quiet, which was probably for the best as I would have fretted. I was given a silver trophy with my name engraved on it and the words ‘Teaching assistant of the Year’ – I believe the overall national winner will get a gold one.”

She added: “I’ve been invited up to London in October. I’m a bit nervous – it’s all quite a lot for an ordinary little teaching assistant in Dorset to take in.

“It’s lovely because all the nominations came from students, which makes it so much more personal.

“It’s nice to know the students appreciate the hard work by all the teaching assistants at the school.”

Mrs Tizard, who has worked at the school for seven and a half years, works with students in the classroom specialising in maths and she is one of the lead professionals in the Learning Support Centre (LSC). She also contributes as an emotional literate support assistant (ELSA).

She described her work colleagues and students as ‘fantastic’ and added: “I know sometimes teenagers get a bit of bad press but in my experience the majority of them are absolutely wonderful, they make it a pleasure to work with them.”

Now in its 13th year, the Pearson Teaching Awards celebrates the unsung heroes of education.

To find out more about the awards scheme visit teachingawards.com