AN educational psychologist has been recognised for a lifetime of supporting children with emotional and psychological problems.

Anne Peake, 62, from Witney, is the official champion of Looked After Children in the north of the county and works at Woodeaton Manor School, north of Oxford.

She has been helping children for 35 years and has worked in the county since 1991.

Now the British Psychological Society has presented Ms Peake with a lifetime achievement award.

On Thursday, pupils at Woodeaton Manor held a surprise party to celebrate her achievement.

She said: “When your peers recognise your work, that is something you value, and it was a very nice award to get.

“The presentation at Woodeaton was a surprise. I had a bit of a weep, but it was lovely.”

Ms Peake started work in Liverpool in 1976, before taking jobs in London and then Oxfordshire. Her work has involved talking to troubled youngsters, helping them tackle their problems, and arranging support.

She said: “There is nothing more rewarding than making a positive contribution to a child’s life.”

She added: “We focus on a child’s needs, not the upsetting bits of what has happened. I have learnt that if you listen long enough and hard enough to people, they begin to understand themselves.

“They can help me help them. My job is to just listen.”

She added: “Improving just one child’s life is enough.”

lsloan@oxfordmail.co.uk