A BLACKPOOL woman proved she's top of the class -- with honours -- as the Queen's Jubilee list was released at the weekend.

Staining resident Nina Southworth, Lancashire's head of teacher recruitment and retention, was awarded the OBE in the honours list for her services to education.

The Blackpool-born former teacher worked closely with the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) and the Teacher Training Agency, and despite a national teacher shortage, Lancashire schools have no posts remaining unfilled.

Ms Southworth also runs an animal rescue centre in her spare time, and last year worked with the police and other animal organisations to successfully rescue ten Dartmoor ponies.

She said: "The honour came as a total shock -- I'm just an ordinary person. I don't have any airs and graces. Although it's a personal award it's a culmination of many people's efforts and a tribute to the excellent colleagues I have worked with over so many years."

Fylde Coast high flyer Raymond Jones was awarded the MBE after spending almost 20 years on a multi-billion pound defence deal between Britain and Saudi Arabia.

Mr Jones, 57, leads a team responsible for spares and repairs in support of Tornados, Hawks, and mine hunters provided to the Saudi armed forces under the Al Yamamah programme -- the UK's biggest-ever defence project.

The former RAF supply officer, whose interests include model railways and aircraft modelling, joined BAE in 1984. He lives in Lytham during the week, travelling home to Oxfordshire at weekends.

Other recipients were 39-year-old world champion water-skier and former Fylde resident Andy Mapple, who receives the OBE, and Fleetwood's David Wilmot, the Chief Constable of Greater Manchester Police who was knighted.

And Lancashire's Chief Constable Pauline Clare was awarded the title Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (CBE) for her services to policing.

Mrs Clare, 55, became chief in 1995 -- the first female chief constable in the country -- and the award comes just a month before she retires.