Local Schools Network founder, Melissa Benn, has won the Fred and Anne Jarvis Award for educational campaigning. The prize acknowledged Melissa’s work as a passionate champion of comprehensive education.

Previous winners of the award include Professor Robin Alexander, Director of the Cambridge Primary Review who said in his acceptance speech that when governments talk about “evidence-based policy” it “all too often means ‘policy-based evidence’: first devise your policy, then select the evidence that fits it, and ignore, rubbish or suppress the rest”, and Michael Rosen, broadcaster, poet and indefatigable campaigner against Sats.

Congratulations, Melissa, on being presented with this honour.