The hard work, endeavour and – let’s be honest – resilience of some teachers can never be under-estimated.

Often faced with a thankless task after thankless task, the value of a good teacher is, well, priceless.

The good ones rarely get the credit they deserve, and the profession can often come under fire. I’d be much better off if I had a pound for every time I’ve heard someone say, "six weeks summer holiday a year can’t be bad, I wouldn’t mind some of that."

As I say, it’s often a thankless  task, so it’s nice to be able to celebrate the good within an industry and actually say “thank you” to those who deserve it.

Last Friday was the second Thurrock Education Awards and it was a once again a quality evening, at Purfleet’s impressive Backstage Centre, fitting for the occasion. There were more than 250 nominations for the 15 awards.

This shows the strength of feeling among teaching colleagues, parents and pupils. No one’s saying everything is rosy with education in Thurrock. Of course it’s not, there’s work to be done.

However, these awards are a fantastic addition to the annual calender, and long may they continue.