A WROUGHTON teacher who lost her battle with cancer is to be remembered by an annual award named in her honour.

Dedicated Innes Cullen, who worked at the Ridgeway School for more than 20 years, died days before Christmas following a short fight against the disease. She was aged 63.

Now the school in Inverary Road has said that a commemorative trophy, named after Mrs Cullen, will be presented to pupils who demonstrate continued effort in PE the teacher's specialist subject area.

In addition Chris Walton, the school's deputy headteacher, has announced provisional plans for a one-off bursary to be named after her, enabling a lucky pupil to travel to Michigan in the US to study there for a week.

Mr Walton said: "Innes was a great colleague and a compassionate teacher. She was incredibly popular with both staff and pupils and inspired everyone she came in contact with."

Just days before she died Mrs Cullen who also taught English and dance had accompanied her husband Bill, 63, on a five-week tour of North America.

While in Canada they visited their daughter Kate, 30, and her future in-laws.

Scores of mourners packed Christchurch in Cricklade Street for her funeral last month.

Mr Cullen, who lives in St Margaret's Road, Old Town, paid tribute to his wife, describing her as a true family woman.

He said: "She was a great believer in the family and sadly she will never see her four grandchildren grow up."

The former Swindon College politics lecturer who still marks A-Level exam papers, revealed how his wife got the job in 1981 after impressing Jan Wooler then chair of governors.

He said: "Innes was asked how she would deal with a class of rowdy schoolchildren running down a corridor.

"She replied that she'd time them and if they were any good she'd train them and put them into the cross country team."

It is that dedication to the profession that made her such a hit with both staff and pupils, says Mr Cullen.

"She was a wonderful person and a very gifted teacher," he said.

"She was always firm and fair. The toughies she encountered during her teaching career knew exactly where they stood with her and respected her for it."

Outside the classroom, Mr Cullen said his wife was an accomplished fencer, having trained with the 1964 Olympic squad, which went on to win a gold medal.

Although officially retired in 2001, Mrs Cullen regularly taught lessons at the school when the school was short-staffed.

During the 1960s and 70s she worked at Commonweal School, Churchfields School and Park Grammar School, which has since shut.

Mr Cullen met his wife at a London East End school in the early 1960s when they were both learning the trade.

In 1965 they moved to Swindon, where they settled and started a family.

The couple also have four sons, Benedict, 27, Damien, 32, Dominic, 37, and Declan, 38.

"We both intended to use Swindon as a springboard to move on, but we never did and we decided to settle down here," said Mr Cullen. "Innes was a very modest person but she would have been thrilled that a trophy is being named after her."

kshoesmith@newswilts.co.uk