Last night saw hundreds of people gather for the second annual Bradford and District Schools Awards, run by the Telegraph & Argus with our partners the University of Bradford and Bradford Council.

And what a night it was. Three shortlisted nominees in 12 categories waited with bated breath to find out who had won top honours in the dozen awards.

But, in truth, there were no losers - everyone who was shortlisted, indeed everyone who was nominated for the awards, be they individual teachers, support staff, or whole schools, was a winner.

And that is because they were representative of the very best that Bradford education has to offer.

Forget the exam league tables, forget the naysayers who talk down Bradford, for a moment at least. Those who took part in the Schools Awards show just how much terrific hard work is being done at grassroots level in our schools each and every single day.

The dedication, inventiveness, innovation and achievement is, frankly, astonishing. If you take time to read the stories of those who won the awards, we guarantee you will be impressed.

That isn't to say that there isn't a lot of work to be done in dragging Bradford's standards up - and hopefully beyond - the national average.

But everyone involved knows this, and efforts are underway to ensure that Bradford is fighting back in this regard.

In the meantime, all of us with children at school or interest in education should rest assured that there really is some sterling work being done in our classrooms.

We should all be proud of our schools, teachers and support staff, and the children they drive on to greater heights.