A hard-working food and nutrition teacher was left feeling thrilled after receiving an award nomination. 

Teachers from across the county have been nominated for the awards, which run every year and aim to shine a light on teachers who tirelessly support, teach and care for young people.

Sharron Wickens, secondary school teacher at Dyson Perrins in Malvern, has been nominated for teacher of the year at the Worcestershire Education Awards. 

Mrs Wickens said she was shocked when she heard she had been nominated by the school's headteacher Mike Gunston. 

Worcester News: THRILLED: Sharron Wickens thrilled to be nominated for an awardTHRILLED: Sharron Wickens thrilled to be nominated for an award (Image: Sharron Wickens)

Mrs Wickens strives to empower her students to achieve above their targets but also teaches them about the importance of knowing how to cook nutritional food. 

Mrs Wickens said: "I work hard at my job to help my students achieve the best results they can. I encourage them to aim high and not be dictated to by targets.

"The progress my GCSE group made last year was phenomenal, and I am very proud of their results.

"I teach Food & Nutrition, which has been a subject I have loved all of my life. I became a teacher because I am so passionate about my subject and wanted to share this with my students.

"I believe that education around food & nutrition is vital for life. We all deserve to know how to feed ourselves a healthy diet and to be able to cook and prepare meals from scratch.

"I love seeing the pride on my students' faces when they produce a brilliant dish from scratch and realise how capable they are. 

The Worcestershire Education Awards in partnership with the University of Worcester has 12 categories and runs across all of our Worcestershire titles – the Worcester News, Malvern Gazette, Evesham Journal, Bromsgrove & Droitwich Advertiser, Redditch Advertiser and Kidderminster Shuttle.

The closing date for nominations is Monday, February 13.

Nominations take just a few minutes. To nominate someone click here

The awards will culminate in a black-tie event on Thursday, April 20, at 7pm at the Abbey Hotel, Great Malvern.