A Seven Kings High School teacher has won an award which recognizes dedication during a lifetime of teaching,

Pupil and family support teacher, Duncan Paterson, has won the Ted Wragg Lifetime Achievement Award in the London and the South East region of the Pearson Teaching Awards 2011.

Mr Paterson, often called the star or legend of Seven Kings, has been at the school in Ley Street since 1974 and a teacher since starting as a music master in Dane Secondary Boys School in 1967.

Judges said: “His commitment to the community of Ilford and generations of pupils and their families has given him a real insight into the way in which Ilford people think and exist day-by-day; that knowledge has made him uniquely able to respond to the needs of the pupils.”

Mr Paterson said: “I was very surprised and humbled by it. I’m proud for myself and for the school and my colleagues. It’s been a team thing really.”