A PRIZE-giving evening at a town's secondary school paid tribute to a former teacher who sadly passed away this year.

Sue Vinall joined John Kyrle High School in Ross-on-Wye in 1986 and was head of history until she retired in 2012 with her husband Brent, who was a deputy headteacher.

Mr Vinall, and daughter, Stephanie, collected the Pride of John Kyrle Award, which was given this year in honour of Mrs Vinall who sadly died in the summer.

Headteacher, Nigel Griffiths, said: "This is our unique award. We give it to individuals who have inspired us and who we are proud to have as part of our special community.

"This year, we are awarding it to someone who, sadly, is no longer with us, but was a member of staff who we all remember with great fondness.

"When Sue passed away I told staff that we should remember her with a smile. She was a joyous person. Her bravery when she was ill was inspiring."

Mr Vinall thanked the school and said his wife would have been delighted.

Several hundred parents, guests, staff, former staff, trustees and former trustees attended the annual prize-giving.

Jon Sanger, joint chair of trustees, welcomed all visitors and said what a successful year it had been for the school.

He said the positive Ofsted visit in March and the recent excellent examination performances at A-level and GCSE were further evidence of the strength of the school.

Mr Griffiths said: "As you will see tonight, students have excelled in areas of academic study, sport, and the arts.

"Students have been our ambassadors in the local community, the county and in many countries and on different continents abroad. This includes our sports tour to Canada in the summer and our annual visit to Uganda."

Mr Griffiths made special mention of Herefordshire Councillor, Phil Cutter, whose work had gained the school some additional funding which had been spent on the school’s refurbished PE changing rooms.

Special guest of honour and former student, Ben Ray, also addressed the audience.

He said how well John Kyrle had prepared him to study history at Oxford University, to teach English in South Korea and for his forthcoming move into employment in the heritage sector.