What's it like to be a winner among winners? Rosie Pressland will tell all when she addresses the awards gathering at the Merchant Adventurers Hall, York, next week.

Rosie, founder principal of Pocklington Montessori School, was roared to the rooftops at last year's business awards when her school scooped the Small Business of the Year, the Progress Through People Award and for Rosie herself, Business Personality of the Year.

Naturally, she took the overall title "and ever since then things have gone ballistic," she says.

"Through the Evening Press Business Awards victory I have achieved more than double what we aspired to do by way of numbers, turnover, facilities and recognition. We are now regarded the top Montessorie School in the country.

"As a result of the titles, my diary is filled with speech appointments up to 2003. People still come up to me in the street to congratulate me."

Since the awards her school, which achieves for six-year-olds the reading standards of ten-year-olds has -

- expanded from 220 places to 320 with the opening of a new wing on the site in Bielby Lane, Pocklington

- launched Eye C Eye, an early learning teacher training website which has earned international acclaim and the approval of Prime Minister Tony Blair, who invited Rosie to Number 10 Downing Street

- established a sports facility with the help of a £26,000 grant from Sports Minister Richard Caborne at which tots get regular training with the likes of David Byas, the former Yorkshire cricket captain, as well as York City football coaches.

- earned a commendation in the National Training Awards at the Royal Armouries, Leeds, this month - the only organisation to achieve the honour at first attempt

- become one of just seven schools in the country to take part in a research programme at Loughborough University which is monitoring the results of her sports centre.

"Everything that has happened to us has been fantastic - and the Evening Press Business Awards triggered it all," says Rosie.