A TEACHER from Ramsey has received a lifetime achievement gong at the prestigious Essex Teaching Awards.

Nigel Spencer, who has worked in the Harwich area for almost 40 years, was one of four teachers from across Essex to receive a Lifetime Achievement Award.

The annual awards, which are in their fourth year, took place at Marconi Social Club in Chelmsford last week.

Mr Spencer started teaching in 1975 before moving to Ramsey Primary in 1979 as the youngest deputy head in Essex.

After 22 years at the school, he left to become a senior teacher at Harwich Community Primary School and then moved to All Saints Primary School in Dovercourt in 2006, where he still worked for three days a week until last year.

He has now left the school to work on new projects in the field of education.

Mr Spencer, who is a dad of seven, said: “It was a complete surprise and a great honour to be selected.

“It was very heartening to see so many colleagues being presented with awards for work they do with children and young people over and above that which the Government demands with the national curriculum and Sats tests.

“This is something which people have lost sight of.

"We are so set these days in having higher scores and making sure schools satisfy Government legislation and Sats requirements.”

Mr Spencer received an MBE as part of the Queen’s New Year’s Honours List for 2014.

Ray Gooding, Essex County Council’s Cabinet Member for Education and Lifelong Learning, praise all those who won awards.

He said: “Schools in Essex have celebrated some fantastic achievements over the last year, with nine in ten now rated as good or outstanding by Ofsted, exam results continuing to be positive and attendance at an all-time high.

“We have some excellent teachers and staff working in the county’s schools and I was delighted to hear about the difference this year’s Essex Teaching Awards winners have made to the lives of young people.

“I am very proud of their achievements and these awards are a great way of acknowledging their hard work and commitment.

“They are also a further illustration of the exciting opportunities and support awaiting teachers in Essex.”