A teacher who lives in Devizes but works in Bath has been named Primary Headteacher of the Year in the 2012 Pearson Teaching Awards.

Anne Bull, who lives in Coate, near Devizes, but teaches at Weston All Saints Primary School in Bath, took the national title at a glitzy presentation in London on Sunday.

She received the award in a ceremony compered by TV sports presenter Clare Balding, which is due to be shown on BBC2 on Sunday at 5.25pm.

Mrs Bull said she was overwhelmed by the honour after winning the regional title in July.

She said: “I love this job and I have been doing it for a very long time. I don’t think it is something anyone can do after only a short period. I give it my total and utter commitment and don’t get sidetracked by fashions in education. I have to be firm about that.”

Although receiving the award was a great thrill, the enormity of what she had achieved didn’t hit Mrs Bull until she returned to school on Tuesday morning.

She said: “It was very, very exciting. All the children had made cards, there was a banner and a red carpet. It was almost better than the glitzy evening in London.”

A report from the judges said: “Anne Bull has been described as an astonishingly talented, dedicated, energetic, hard-working, focused, supportive and inspirational headteacher who provides outstanding leadership with a clear and compelling vision for success.”

One pupil was quoted as saying: “Mrs Bull is a great headteacher who helps us find our talents and improve them until they are perfect.”

Mrs Bull spent much of her long teaching career in Wiltshire. She taught at Worton and Marston Primary, near Devizes – now part of Five Lanes School – and Aloeric Primary in Melksham.

She was headteacher at St Thomas a Becket Primary in Tilshead and Westbury Leigh before moving to Bath.

Mrs Bull said: “I am still a Wiltshire woman. I travel every day to Bath. It’s not that bad. It only takes me 40 minutes, quite often less time than it took me to get to Westbury while I was teaching there.”