Dewsbury headteacher one of many outstanding individuals from Yorkshire recognised for extraordinary service in HM The King’s first official Birthday Honours List

Rizwana Mahmood-Ahmed, who is headteacher at Carlton Junior and Infants School, is being recognised for her services to education.

The 52-year-old has over 22 years of experience in the industry and joined the school in 2008 as deputy before taking on the role of head six years later. The 2015 Ofsted report described school leadership as “exceptional and inspirational”, and commented on the rapid improvement in standards, attitude of pupils and parental engagement.

That engagement with parents and families in the local community has helped improve the dialogue, as well as school attendance, and resulted in the school achieving the Engaging Families Award, the first in Kirklees.

She coaches and mentors other teaching leaders as a member of the steering groups for Women Leading in Education and Diverse Leaders in Yorkshire and Humber, and in September 2019, she was declared a Local Leader of Education by the Pennine Teaching School Alliance.

The list includes recipients who have contributed significant amounts of service to their local communities and the country as a whole. Many have been awarded for voluntary work, going above and beyond to help others, while asking for little recognition in return.

Deputy Prime Minister, Rt Hon. Oliver Dowden MP, said:

“This year’s honours list is a testament to ordinary people who have demonstrated extraordinary community spirit, and I pay tribute to all those from Yorkshire and Humberside who have been recognised today.

“Our honours system has long been a way of recognising people who make an incredible contribution to life in Britain and beyond.

“We are now focussed on levelling up the system to ensure it represents the length and breadth of the country, and I hope that the fantastic stories this year ensure more regional nominations in the future.”

Anyone can nominate someone for an honour. Visit https://www.gov.uk/honours to find out more about how you can put someone forward.