EXCITEMENT is building ahead of tonight's Worcestershire Education Awards.

The awards celebrate the talented teachers, leaders and support workers and so many great schools, colleges and other education organisations in the county.

The ceremony is being held at University of Worcester Arena this evening and is sure to be fantastic evening.

Nominations poured in after we launched the awards in January and it was incredibly difficult to narrow them down to a shortlist of just three for each category.

Categories that will be hotly contested tonight include Primary School of the Year, Independent School of the Year, Secondary School of the Year, College or Post-18 Education and Training Provider of the Year, Community Involvement Award, Special Education Needs Award, Support Staff of the Year, Newcomer of the Year,Unsung Hero Award, Headteacher/Principal of the Year and Teacher of the Year.

Although the awards are organised by the Worcester News in partnership with the University of Worcester, they wouldn’t be taking place without the many organisations who have sponsored the initiative and those individuals who took the time to nominate - so thank you to everyone for your support and making the Worcestershire Education Awards a fixture on the county’s calendar.

Look out for Worcester News' coverage of the event, listing all the winners and pictures from the evening, online and in the paper.