A teacher from Appleford School which offers specialist provision for pupils with dyslexia, has been named as one of 80 Pearson National Teaching Silver award winners.

Janice Mitchell, head of learning support at Appleford School, was honoured with the Award for Excellence in Special Needs Education on national 'Thank a Teacher Day' for her outstanding commitment to changing the lives of the children she works with every day.

At first, Janice thought she would receive a certificate or a Bronze award, but to her surprise, Appleford School let off the fire alarm to announce that she had in fact won the silver award.

Salisbury Journal: Janice Mitchell, of Figheldean, was given a cake celebrating 'Thank a Teacher Day' to accompany her award. Picture: Appleford SchoolJanice Mitchell, of Figheldean, was given a cake celebrating 'Thank a Teacher Day' to accompany her award. Picture: Appleford School

Janice, who has 20 years' experience as a teacher, is the only teacher in the school to have won a Pearson award and was "absolutely blown away and a teeny bit emotional" when she heard the news.

"It's just incredible really, that we've got to this stage, for the school and for me as well," Janice added.

Janice has now been shortlisted to win one of just 16 Gold Awards which will be announced in an Oscars-style ceremony in November.

The scale of the award was recognised when Janice found out that her once in a lifetime achievement will be broadcast on the BBC’s The One Show as part of a week-long celebration of teaching.

She said: "I didn't actually realise how big of an award they are, when I found out that I could go on The One Show my lips started quivering and I thought 'oh stop it, you can't go on The One Show with a quivery lip!'"

Starting as head of science at Appleford, after six years, Janice took on a new role and has been head of learning support for nine months.

Salisbury Journal: Janice Mitchell is the first teacher from Appleford School to receive a Silver Pearson AwardJanice Mitchell is the first teacher from Appleford School to receive a Silver Pearson Award

Janice held a dyslexic information day for schools in the south west, she added: "We're making mental health a primary concern going forward and we make sure support is available in every block in our school."

Whilst at Appleford Janice has developed the science department into a high-achieving and successful department, did the same for the sixth form and maths departments, and she is now putting her recent qualification as a SENCO into good practice.

The Pearson National Teaching Awards is an annual celebration of excellence in education, founded in 1998 by Lord Puttnam to recognise the life-changing impact an inspirational teacher can have on the lives of the young people they work with.

This year marks its 23rd year of celebrating school teaching staff across the UK.