TWO Suffolk teachers will join the region's elite in competing for a prestigious national award.Amanda Richmond, of Stowupland High School, and Paul Gionis, of Thomas Mills High School, in Framlingham, are representing the east of England in the national teacher awards.

TWO Suffolk teachers will join the region's elite in competing for a prestigious national award.

Amanda Richmond, of Stowupland High School, and Paul Gionis, of Thomas Mills High School, in Framlingham, are representing the east of England in the national teacher awards.

Physical education teacher Ms Richmond has been nominated in the section for school and community involvement.

She was nominated by two of her former pupils and said she is thrilled to be put forward.

During her time at the school, which spans more than 20 years, she has run the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme and also organised expeditions to countries like Kenya, Morocco and Peru.

Design and technology teacher Mr Gionis, who has been at the school for seven years, was nominated as secondary school teacher of the year by his headteacher, David Floyd.

Mr Floyd said: "I nominated him because he's an outstanding teacher and I support the whole notion of teaching awards. It's a chance to celebrate a successful teacher."

Ten winners, chosen from scores of entries, will receive a prize package of a cash grant, ICT equipment and professional development courses worth £25,000 to take back to their schools.

Lord Puttnam, chair of the teaching awards trust, said: "We all live in an economy in which knowledge and skills are at an ever greater premium. It's our teachers who help deliver that knowledge and those skills, day in, day out.

"Yet too often, as a society, we fail to recognise the extraordinary contribution made by the teaching profession. The awards were set up to publicly acknowledge and celebrate the crucial role teachers play."

The pair has already scooped a £500 professional bursary for winning the regional heats.

They will learn their fate in the national competition on October 26 when the awards are staged at The London Palladium. The event will be hosted by Eamonn Holmes and attended by celebrities from the world of entertainment and sport.