Educational experts from across the county have gathered for the tough task of selecting the winners of the Kent Teacher of the Year Awards.

In a marathon five hour session the panel of a dozen judges picked 56 teachers, support staff and school volunteers who will be invited to historic Leeds Castle for a glittering awards ceremony.

More than 400 nominations were submitted this year and chairman of judges, Simon Dolby from the KM Charity Team, said the panel had a very difficult time deciding on some of the hotly contested categories.

Mr Dolby said: "There has been a marked increase in the quality of nominations we received this year and the highest ever number of nominations coming direct from senior management team and head teachers of schools. I am so grateful to the judges for putting in the time to research and deliberate over the entries. I know we have selected some fantastic winners for 2015."

Over the next week winners and finalists will receive notification letters inviting them to attend the event at Leeds Castle. More than 100 of the nominees not invited to the final will receive highly commended certificates to acknowledge the special contribution they make to their schools.

Organisations supporting the awards include: Kent County Council, Medway Council, University of Kent, Canterbury Christ Church University, Social Enterprise Kent, Brachers Law, Southern Educational Leadership Trust, Williams Giles Chartered Accountants, Kent Sport, CXK, Project Salus, Marlowe Theatre, Leeds Castle and Three R’s Teacher Recruitment.

To find out more about the Kent Teacher of the Year Awards visit www.kentteacheroftheyear.co.uk.