A 62-YEAR-OLD teacher, who was coaxed out of retirement to return to the classroom, has collected an MBE from Buckingham Palace.

Mildred Howell officially retired from teaching in the mid-1990s, but was tempted back to help out at Hurworth School Maths and Computing College, near Darlington, by a former colleague.

Eight years later, she still teaches there three days a week.

Mrs Howell, from Sedgefield, County Durham, travelled down to London with her husband, Walter, 69, and their sons, Adam and Andrew, to receive her MBE.

She was one of more than 100 people, including round-the-world yachtswoman Ellen McArthur, who picked up their New Year honours at Buckingham Palace yesterday.

Mrs Howell said: "It was a wonderful day and very impressive. If felt like such a privilege.

"The Queen was lovely and just as you would expect. She had a little chat with everyone.

"She asked me if I was still in touch with education. I said I was still teaching part-time and she said she appreciated how important education is."

Mrs Howell, a maths teacher, was named North-East secondary school teacher of the year in 2003.