Liz Taylor is a typically extraordinary reception teacher. Once on holiday in the Caribbean she saw some gorgeous bird-of-paradise flowers that she knew her pupils would love - and then flooded the hotel room trying to keep them fresh.

On another occasion, her husband was roped into the task of finding a cheap rowing boat on eBay for her class’s pirate project.

Parents and colleagues at St Joseph’s Catholic Primary in Sale, Cheshire, are quick to praise Mrs Taylor, but when she won Primary Teacher of the Year in the North, she was so surprised that she missed the train back home from the ceremony in Leeds.

“The thing was,” said Mrs Taylor, who is also an assistant head, “I had booked us on an early train, but after the ceremony the press wanted to speak to me and I was engulfed. I felt a bit like someone on The X Factor.”

The final of the Teaching Awards is on Sunday October 31 on BBC2 at 6pm. Mrs Taylor’s train tickets have been booked for Monday morning.