TEACHERS are encouraging people to nominate the best school projects in the city for a York Community Pride award.

Staff at last year's winning schools - New Earswick Primary and Archbishop Holgate's - today spoke of the benefits of scooping the community awards for the top educational projects.

The teachers said the awards were a way of showing pupils how well they had done with their projects.

Sarah Hardwell, history teacher at Archbishop Holgate's, who nominated four boys there for the Best Secondary School Project 2006 award after they had set up a paper recycling scheme at the school, said: "Winning the Community Pride award was excellent recognition for our pupils for all the hard work and commitment they had shown to the cause. The pupils are at the heart of our school, so it meant a lot to us all that they received this award, and I hope that their achievements will inspire others to make a difference too."

Sally Wadsworth is deputy head teacher at New Earswick Primary School. Sally initiated a number of the school's projects - which included the setting up of a group of pupils who visited a retirement home in York to entertain residents and do work there - that landed it the Best Primary School Project 2006 award.

She said: "The award made everyone involved feel really special. I would urge other schools to enter their projects, as winning an award really does make a difference - it gives you a real sense of achievement."

Meanwhile, Health Service Hero nominee Debbie Johnson, who is a Macmillan nurse, is racking up nominations for the award - she has now received a total of four.

Debbie, of Poppleton, near York, said: "It's wonderful to receive these nominations. I'm very happy - it's really raising the profile of Macmillan.

"It's nice to know that the people I provide support to remember me."

There's still plenty of time to nominate a person, organisation or school in York you feel is an unsung hero in the community.

To make a nomination for an award, please fill in the coupon above.

Send us a picture of your nominee if you can, but these are non-returnable.

Send in your coupon with a supporting statement (no more than two sides of A4 paper).

You can download a nomination form from this website.

If you are a local business and you'd like to support the awards, there are still a couple of categories available for you to sponsor.

For details, phone Nigel Briggs on 01904 567168, or email him at nigel.briggs@ycp.co.uk