WEST Dorset has more top teachers than you can shake a stick of chalk at.

The region boasts no less than five educators who have been shortlisted among 32 South of England finalists for honours at the Teaching Awards 2008.

And Chickerell Primary School is among the schools vying for the DCSF Award for Sustainable Schools.

The Teaching Awards, which recognise unsung heroes, have been running for 10 years.

All the finalists will be officially announced by BBC presenter Sally Taylor at a ceremony in Winchester Guildhall on June 11.

Winners from the South of England will go on to compete in the national awards, which will be held in London in October.

Caroline Evans, chief executive of the awards, said: "The influence of these outstanding individuals on the lives of children and their families cannot be underestimated."

Headteacher Peter Farrington puts his individual nomination success down to team effort at the Prince of Wales School.

Mr Farrington, who has been nominated for Headteacher of the Year, said his staff were key to the Dorchester school receiving an outstanding Ofsted inspection result in February.

He said: "I attribute a great deal of it to the whole of the team in my school and I expect the reason why I was nominated was on the back of our Ofsted inspection.

"I make no bones about the reason we did so well - that's because I have an extremely strong team."

Mr Farrington, who has been teaching at the Prince of Wales since 1994, said he simply loves being at school.

"I'm keen on sharing different things that I've learned and I think that is what always attracted me to working with primary age children."

n Other schools in the area also attracted nominations. Vying for the SSAT award for Outstanding New Teacher of the Year is Hayley Andrews of the Gryphone School in Sherborne.

Nominated in the TDA Teaching Assistant of the Year category is Jackie Dowsett of The Forum School in Shillingstone, Blandford Forum.

  • A DEVOTED drama and English teacher puts her successful teaching technique down to her rich life experience.

Kate Thomas, 33, of Budmouth Technology College in Weymouth, is a contender for the Outstanding New Teacher of the Year prize at the Teaching Awards.

Miss Thomas opted to teach after spending time travelling the world and working for a production house in London. She said: "I think it's helped me coming into the profession a little later in life. I suppose I have more life skills that have helped me."

Miss Thomas said teaching is the only job she has done where every day varies so much from the next.

She added: "Youngsters these days get a bad reputation, but they are really fantastic people who just want to share their experiences with you.

"I try and make lessons fun with the pupils by interacting with them as people and saying hello in the corridor. We are always aware what the boundaries are."

Miss Thomas is a former Budmouth pupil who grew up in Weymouth. She said: "I've lived all over the country. But I'm glad to be back in Weymouth - the colleagues I work with are fantastic, they are all so supportive."

  • CHICKERELL Primary School pupils feel good on the inside while they learn, judges have decided.

The school has been nominated for being one of the South of England's most sustainable schools. Since 2005, teachers have been teaching a pioneering programme to its pupils.

Inclusion leader Jane Delany said: "The school that won the award last year was very eco-friendly but our sustainability is more about teaching our children how to take care of each other and the community."

The school is recognised as one of the leaders in the field for the Social and Emotional Aspects of Learning (SEAL) programme.

Teachers are now passing on their knowledge of the subject to fellow Dorset teachers. Mrs Delany said: "The key aims of SEAL are managing feelings, empathy, self-awareness and social skills. It helps pupils to be in charge of their learning more."

SEAL lessons are taught as part of the school's PSHE lessons but are also used outside the classroom, Mrs Delany said.

"It teaches them things for everything in between lessons, things they can use in the playground."

A large group of pupils will be representing the school at the Winchester awards ceremony.

Mrs Delany said: "I think it's testament to all the hard work that the staff, parents and governors have put in. Part of SEAL is about celebrating yourself and sometimes being British we don't do that. It's a chance for the pupils to be pleased and proud."

  • OUTSTANDING New Teacher of the Year nominee Phillip Sales was shocked when he found out he was in the running for an award.

The Bridport teacher, 24, was nominated by a parent who was impressed by the amount of progress her child made in his class. For Mr Sales, of St Mary's School, teaching runs in the family - his aunt is headteacher of a Yeovil school.

He said: "I'm quite excited by the nomination even though it came as a bit of a shock. I will be a bit nervous at the ceremony, but we had an Ofsted inspection last term and I don't think it will be as nerve-wracking as that."

Mr Sales, a year six teacher, has been in the profession for three years. He said: "I'm one of only two male teachers in the school. I think it's important for more men to become primary school teachers because we can act as role models for the boys.

"It sounds like a cliché, but teaching really is more than a job. My favourite thing about it is inspiring children and acting as a mentor before they go to secondary school."

Mr Sales attributes his professional success to the support he has had from the school.

"A lot of time teachers are overwhelmed with paperwork, but I've had a lot of help to get me through that," he said.