A FORMER headteacher has been honoured by the Queen for her work in education.

Beth Smith, vice chairman of Colchester Institute’s board of governors, was made an MBE in the New Year Honours list.

She returned home from a Christmas break to congratulations from former colleagues.

Mrs Smith, 75, of Colchester Road, Elmstead Market, said she was “somewhat embarrassed” to be recognised for her voluntary work in education.

She said: “I have been honoured for what, for me, is just something I like doing. I have thoroughly enjoyed my work at the college, and consider I have gained more from it than I have given.”

Mrs Smith moved to Elmstead Market in 1986 when her husband, the Rev Ron Smith, took over as parish priest. She worked as a secondary headteacher, running schools in Tower Hamlets, London, and Suffolk Her husband died in 1996, the same year Mrs Smith joined Colchester Institute’s board.

She said: “I was invited to join because they wanted somebody with experience of education, and it came at the right time for me as a new interest after I was widowed.

“There was a significant role to play and I was the first chairman of the quality and standards board, which the institute had long before other colleges.”

Mrs Smith, a mother-of-two, plans to step down in two years when her term runs out. She considers she will be “past her sell-by date”.

She is also a governor of Elmstead Primary School, does voluntary work for the Church of England and was made a Freeman of the City of London in recognition of her work in schools in Tower Hamlets.