THE heads of two country schools are in the running for a national award honouring outstanding contributions to the rural community.

Susan Hollows and Lynne Wood, both of North Yorkshire, have been nominated in the Rural Schoolteacher of the Year category, in the National Farmers' Union (NFU) Countryside Awards.

Mrs Hollows is head at Sutton-under-Whitestonecliffe Primary School, near Thirsk, where pupil numbers have doubled since her arrival in 1996.

During the foot-and-mouth crisis, her careful liaison between the school and local farmers enabled it to stay open to provide a focal point away from the difficulties.

Working alongside governors, Mrs Hollows has also spearheaded fundraising efforts for a new school building and gained permission for the facility to be built last year.

Mrs Wood, head of Bilsdale Midcable Chop Gate primary school, near Stokesley, leads a two-teacher school with 17 pupils on its roll.

She led the school's successful bid to become the first in the county to be awarded the National Quality Mark from the Basic Skills Agency in 2000.

NFU countryside chief executive Ian Dalzell said: "The Countryside Awards are designed to recognise the many individuals and groups who make a major contribution to rural communities, contributions which have become even more important in recent difficult times."

The winners will be announced at a gala lunch in London on July 16, and the prizes given will relate to each category winner's particular needs.