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	On 12 March, at the Council House in Birmingham, our eight Regional Winners, all outstanding clerks, were presented with their awards by Estelle Morris MP, the current Minister of State for the Arts and a former Minister for Education - who had just the day before been involved in that mammoth sitting in the Commons.
At the end of the proceedings, RICHARD ASHDOWN from St Peter's Secondary School in Bournemouth LEA was named 'Clerk of the Year'.
It was a joyous and heart warming occasion. It gave us all an opportunity to celebrate not only the exceptional work of these clerks but also the good work carried out behind the scenes by so many other dedicated and hard working clerks across the land. Much like the recipients of the teaching awards, these people were reticent about accepting that they were doing anything other than their job. Features of all of our winners were their unassuming nature and their commitment to their jobs and to their schools. They also played a leading role in organising and developing the work of their governing bodies and all produced exemplary paperwork. We were not able to respond individually to thank all those governors and their clerks for taking part so we'd like to take this opportunity to do so. The high quality of the nominees made our task difficult but these nominations were sifted and scored. This process produced three finalists in each of the eight geographical regions. The finalists in each region were visited by a judge who examined their paperwork and interviewed both the clerk and his or her nominator. The judge's task was to verify the information on the nomination form and to gain sufficient information about those finalists to make the decision as to which should be the regional winner. As you can imagine, this was not an easy task! All twenty-four regional finalists are special people whose performance is above and beyond the call of duty. The eight regional winners were chosen and invited to lunch and to collect their awards at a special celebration in Birmingham. A moderating panel of judges met just prior to the awards ceremony in order to decide which of our regional winners should be clerk of the year. This was an even harder decision - when you have eight truly exceptional contenders, you are really looking for the crème de la crème! This is the second time we have run this award and we have again found it a really rewarding experience. Those of us involved as sifters, judges or moderators have gained insights into the vast improvements in governing body performance that an exceptional clerk can bring. And we have realised that we all deserve that level of support - but we don't all get it! This year we gained sponsorship for the award from DfES, the Times Educational Supplement (TES), Best Absence Management Services, the Centre for Public Scrutiny and Toshiba. This has again been a most worthwhile project and, provided we can attract sufficient funds, we will want to repeat it in 2007. Jane Phillips	Richard Ashdown, Clerk of the Year (centre), with Estelle Morris Sylvia Vine, South East Regional Winner (centre) Sophia Rowbotham, Yorkshire and Humberside Regional Winner (centre) Ian Russell, West Midlands Regional Winner Kay Mullett, North West Regional Winner (centre), with Estelle Morris Cath O'Sullivan, London Regional Winner (centre) Margaret Arksey, North East Regional Winner (right) Pauline O'Neill, Eastern Regional Winner John Britton, DfES Jane Martin, CPS Justin Damer, Best Insurance Stephen Adamson, NASG Vice Chair (centre)
OUR REGIONAL WINNERS ARE: Eastern: PAULINE O'NEILL St Mary's Catholic Primary School in Northampton LEA Pauline was nominated by Mrs S J Kealy and is also employed in the school in another capacity. London: CATH O'SULLIVAN William Morris Sixth Form Academy in Hammersmith and Fulham LEA Cath was nominated by Carol Moore and she is part of the LEA clerking Service. North East: MARGARET ARKSEY Herdley Bank First School in Northumberland LEA Margaret was nominated by Thomas Moore and she is part of the LEA clerking service. North West: KAY MULLET Keswick Secondary School in Cumbria LEA Kay was nominated by Sue Leigh and is also employed in the school in another capacity. South East: SYLVIA VINE Eggars Secondary School in Hampshire LEA Sylvia was nominated by Margaret Crowe and she is part of the LEA clerking Service. South West: RICHARD ASHDOWN St Peter's Secondary School in Bournemouth LEA Richard was nominated by Dr R L Thomas and is an independent clerk. West Midlands: IAN RUSSELL Federation of Wainbody Wood Special School in Coventry LEA Ian was nominated by Barbara Kempster and he is part of the LEA clerking Service. Yorks and Humber: SOPHIA ROWBOTHAM St Mary's CE J&I School in Calderdale LEA Sophia was nominated by Richard Shaw and she is a parent at the school.
REGIONAL FINALISTS: J. Bateson, Menston Primary School, Bradford Joanna Cain, Batford Nursery School, Hertfordshire Christine Eaves, Kirkland & Caterall St. Helen's CE Primary School, Lancashire Anne Gregory, Moreton Say C.E. Controlled Primary School, Shropshire Ann Harrop, Dorchester Primary School, Hull Julia Hughes, The Russett School, Cheshire Mike Jefferis, Whitecross High School, Herefordshire Stepahnie McIntosh, Longhill High School, Brighton & Hove Gordon McMillan, Benson Primary and Nursery School, Croydon Ruth Morrison, Bloxham Primary School, Oxfordshire Jackie Mulvey, Winkfield St. Mary's C.E. Primary School, Bracknell Forest Dianne Pattison, Gainford C. of E. Primary School, Durham Clive Richardson, Wymondham College, Norfolk David Sassoon, Braintcroft Primary School, Brent Glennis Smith, Whitecliffe School, Redcar & Cleveland Debbie Stoneman, Callington Primary School, Cornwall
CLICK HERE for results of 2003 Clerks' Award

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