A PARENT at a village school has been hailed "Internet King" after giving up hours of his spare time to create an award-winning website.

Andrew Hipkiss was the toast of Chaddesley Corbett Endowed First School this week as the new-look site was officially launched.

Mr Hipkiss, whose five-year-old daughter Eleanor attends the school, was the brains behind the school's new information network, which can be found at www.ccschool.co.uk.

And the site has already won a national award, given out to inspiring educational websites.

Mr Hipkiss, who is manager of the Stourbridge branch of Walton & Hipkiss estate agents, volunteered his web creation skills when he heard of plans to update the existing basic site.

"I was only too pleased to be able to offer practical help to my daughter's school in this way, so saving them money."

Headteacher Tim Ireson said: "I am thrilled with the website, which is user friendly and fun for both adults and children. I would like to thank Andrew for the hours of work he has willingly given the school - it is such partnerships with parents that we value so highly."

Initially a hobby, Mr Hipkiss's fascination for web design has grown into a small business run from home in his spare time. He has more than 12 other sites credited to his name.

The site offers general information about the school, including a photographic tour of the building, and also child-specific pages and links.

It has already been awarded a Golden Web Award presented by The International Association of Web Masters and Designers.

A presentation was made to Mr Hipkiss at a special "website launch assembly" on Tuesday.