The first tranche of nominations has been received by Suffolk County Council for the Raising the Bar Awards.

The awards aim to motivate those making a positive contribution to education in Suffolk as well as helping to spread best practice in the county.

More than 180 nominations have been received in all 12 categories of the awards. In fact SCC has had so many nominations that it has decided to extend the deadline for submission to 1pm on Friday, February 28.

Some of the examples of outstanding effort in education include Vicky Hogg, headteacher at Thurlow CEVC Primary School.

She is up for the Excellence in Achievement award.

Her nominator said: “Vicky has turned a failing school with no direction and with performance in the bottom quartile of all SATs measures into an Ofsted recognised ‘good’ school in under a year.

“Through Vicky’s leadership and her team’s hard work and dedication we achieved some of the best Key Stage Two results in all of Suffolk.

“All in all, a fantastic year’s work and a performance that the governing body are justly proud of.”

Another nominee is Claire Kent, who is up for the Innovation in Education and Skills award for establishing a Forest School in Clare. Forest Schools aim to inspire pupils by taking education outdoors and into a woodland environment.

She was nominated by St Edmundsbury borough councillor Alaric Pugh, who said: “This is an innovative educational approach responding to local need and the advantages of the Suffolk environment. Incredible dedication and commitment by entrepreneurial educationalists.”