A PRIMARY school teacher been named as one of the most inspirational people in her profession.

Angela Hilton of Cleves Cross Primary School in Ferryhill scooped a Gold Award, as Teacher of the Year in a Primary School category at the Pearson National Teaching Awards.

The teacher, who was selected from thousands of nominations, received the coveted award from Steph McGovern, business presenter for BBC Breakfast, at her school.

Ms Hilton said said: “It’s absolutely wonderful to win this award. For myself, but also for my colleagues, the children in school and for the whole of Ferryhill community, it’s put us on the map.

"I loved the drama, maths and history teachers at school, and I loved being part of the school community. I always felt safe at school and decided at an early age that I wanted to go into teaching because of that.”

Judges said: "Real life experience and learning outside the classroom are cornerstones of Angela’s teaching and have played a vital role in helping her pupils reach her high standards.

"As a class teacher she engages and inspires pupils, meeting their individual needs to enable them to reach their full potential. Angela places great emphasis on nurturing wellbeing and constantly goes the extra mile to make sure her pupils feel valued and are supported to be the best learners they can be.

"Outside the classroom, children are empowered to lead campaigns that will make a positive difference to their community, such as stopping cars speeding and reducing litter."

"Angela also plays a key role in the school’s highly successful International Schools programme, organising exchange visits with their partner school in Sri Lanka, their partner school in France, and is currently leading a county wide project to build up relationships with a group of schools in Kenya."

The ceremony comes as new research, published by the Teaching Awards Trust, shows the impact that teachers can have in promoting teaching as a career to the next generation. The research finds that 40 per cent of teachers in the North-East coming into the profession were inspired to do so by a teacher.

The breaks down the most inspirational teacher by subject, which shows that English teachers in the region are the most likely to inspire the next generation of teachers.

Overall, 16 per cent of teachers joined the profession due to their English teacher, followed by 10 per cent for science and 10 per cent for history.

The ceremony is being shown on BBC2's Britain’s Classroom Heroes on Saturday, October 26 at 5.30pm.