Mother of five Mrs Adams, who teaches maths at West Craven High Technology College, beat off the challenge of 8,000 other nominees to gain third place in the Secondary Teacher of the Year category.

The presentation, which featured BBC presenter Wendy Gibson as host, took place at the Lowry, Salford Quays, in front of a 250-strong audience.

"It was a fabulous afternoon and a really, really, nice experience," said Mrs Adams. "The presentation was incredible and we were all given business cards to pass around at the end which was fun as being teachers you don't tend to have cards."

There were claps and cheers from pupils in several classrooms when she returned to school the following day.

The organisers gave a short talk about each finalist before the presentation and Mrs Adams said she had picked up some really good ideas from other teachers.

Mrs Adams' mum had travelled from Shropshire for the presentation and Mrs Adams' other guests included deputy headteacher Mr Bob Grayson and ex-colleague Sarah Mellor who had submitted the original nomination.

Caroline Evans chief executive of the Teaching Awards congratulated the award winners. "They are real heroes among their colleagues, pupils and parents and now the whole world knows what a difference they make," she said.