Just 78 out of more than 30,000 UK schools and nurseries applied for the awards, described last week by Lord Blyth of Rowington, chairman of the judging panel, as “the Oscars of public service”.

A total of 103 applications were drawn from educational institutions - up from 56 last year. The number of awards rose from 15 to 27, including 18 schools.

For the first time, parents were invited to send in nominations, attracting just 580, many for the same institutions.

The scheme has been greeted with scepticism by many in the public sector, since it was launched in 1992 as part of the Prime Minister’s Citizen’s Charter initiative.

Charter Marks, designed to encourage schools, hospitals and other public bodies to improve customer relations, recently came under attack when British Gas withdrew from the scheme following a rise in complaints about its service.

John Sutton, general secretary of the Secondary Heads Association, said most schools had better things to do with their time than fill in application forms.

“This is nothing more than a public relations exercise. It is just something to stick on your notepaper. I think most schools take the view that they already have a high standard of service.”

Among the 18 colleges which applied there were six award-winners, while all three universities which applied were successful.

Baroness Perry, a panel member and president of Lucy Cavendish College, Cambridge, said: “We are finding an immense enthusiasm and pride among the winners. We are interested in the Charter Mark making education better for children and they have raised expectations among parents.”

Her views were shared by one of 27 winners in the education sector. Liam Reddington, deputy head of Carlton-le-Willows, a 1,300-pupil comprehensive on the edge of Nottingham, was jubilant. “Parents, children and staff are delighted - it’s a real morale-booster. It’s rare that a school gets a formal recognition for its achievements.” The school is the first in the East Midlands to get the award and the only organisation in Nottingham, he claimed.

Swaffield Primary in south-west London, and Moseley, a multicultural secondary in Birmingham, are also firsts in their area.

Genie Turton, director of the charter programme, praised the overall quality of the applicants. She and her team carry out assessments. “Not a formal one - we don’t do a mystery call, but we only give a few days’ notice which means that the staff don’t have time to do much sprucing up.”

Apart from talking to pupils, teachers and parents she has “a wander around the local area visiting sweetshops, the residents’ association . . .” to find out what the school’s impact is on the community and how it deals with any problems that arise: petty theft, for example, or poor car-parking.

The Charter Mark scheme is not about glossy brochures, she insists. “It is about setting out in simple terms what you are doing, how you are really providing a service. We find that schools are doing these things, but they don’t realise they are and sometimes they haven’t told parents what they are doing.”

This year’s winners showed that schools had better partnerships with parents and the community, more awareness of the environment and better pastoral care and counselling for students.

Some were praised for innovations: Canterbury further education college introduced schemes to ease students’ travel costs; Cromer High, a grant-maintained school in Norfolk, has set up an Open University centre; St Mary’s secondary in Derry, Northern Ireland, which successfully renewed its application this year - a compulsory requirement after three years - excels in community partnerships and an active student council.

Next year’s promotion for the scheme will focus on past winners to spread the message of what the award means to a school or college - “why it’s worth having a go”.

The winning schools were: Ashdown School, Poole, Dorset; Carlton-le-Willows School, Gelding, Nottinghamshire; City Technology College, Bradford; Cromer High School GM, Cromer, Norfolk; Dell Primary School, Chepstow, Gwent; Ercall Wood GM School, Telford, Shropshire; Hayfield School, Doncaster; Idsall School, Shifnal, Shropshire; Kingskerwell Primary School, Newton Abbot, Devon; Manor Lodge Primary School, Sheffield; Moseley School, Birmingham; Mullion School, Cornwall; Philip Morant School, Colchester, Essex; St Mary’s Secondary School, Londonderry; St Michael’s Primary School, Belfast; Stowupland High School, Stowmarket, Suffolk; Swaffield Primary School, London; Thomas Telford School, Telford, Shropshire.

Five FE and sixth-form colleges in England and Wales awarded Charter Marks were: Pembrokeshire College, Coventry Technical College, Wynstanley College, Darlington College of Technology and Canterbury College.