The chair of governors at a St Albans school has been crowned as the most outstanding in the county.

Lin Keen from Sandringham School won at the first Outstanding School Governors Awards, which included a £500 prize for the school in The Ridgeway.

The awards, run by Hertfordshire Association of School Governors and Herts for Learning, have been established to celebrate the dedication and commitment of all governors in Hertfordshire’s 525 schools.

Schools across the county were asked to nominate a governor or governors they believe has really made a difference and helped to improve the educational outcomes of children in their school.

The eight finalists represented schools in St Albans, Watford, South Mimms, Hitchin, Berkhamsted, Stevenage, Tring and Ware.

Alan Gray, headteacher of Sandringham School said he was delighted that the work of Lin Keen as chair of the school had been recognised.

He said: "She is an outstanding individual who has worked tirelessly for the school over many years. Lin has created a wonderful team of governors with exceptional skills, who collectively ensure the very highest standards of education for young people at Sandringham."

Paul Rosen, who chairs the Hertfordshire School Governors Association, said: "We are delighted to be able to celebrate our governors for the efficient and dedicated work that they do within their schools to support children and young people in receiving the education they deserve.

"We had an overwhelming response from schools across the county to the awards, and whilst we chose three awards this year, we could have chosen 33 or 300 – it still wouldn’t be enough.

"We value enormously the contribution made by governors in this vital role and thank all of them for willingly giving up their time, expertise and commitment to support our schools."