A Wiltshire publishing company is in the running for a prestigious national award for the second consecutive year.

Buzzard Publishing, set up by a primary school consultant passionate about enthusing children with maths has been shortlisted for the Teach Primary Mathematics Resource Award.

Liz Hopkins, a former primary and secondary school teacher, runs the company based in Minety near Malmesbury.

The maths resources publication has been shortlisted for its CanDo Geometry.

Available online as a maths resource for primary school teachers, it is one of Buzzard's CanDo maths series, which help children to learn and enjoy maths.

Last year, they reached the Teach Primary Early Years Excellence Award finals for Buzzard’s Little Livello resources, which support Early Years teachers.

Liz, who runs Buzzard Publishing with husband Mel and daughter Emma, from their home in Minety, said she was delighted that Buzzard had a resource shortlisted.

“We are up against some very large publishers, so we are thrilled to have been shortlisted alongside them,” said Liz

“I am really passionate about supporting the teaching of maths and very proud of CanDo, which I co-created with fellow maths advisor, Steve Lomax.”

Liz believes the CanDo series is proving such an asset to teachers because as well as featuring Colin and Coco, whom the children love, the resources include videos and whiteboard animations.

Buzzard teamed up with Essex-based illustrator Hen the Pen and the animations are all created by daughter Emma, who also runs a separate business, Animate That.

“The CanDo modules are driven by the three tenets of the revised national curriculum, which was introduced in 2014, fluency, reasoning and problem-solving," Liz added.

"Steve and I became aware of the need for more support for the teaching of reasoning and solving problems, and that’s where CanDo started.”

This year, five finalists have been shortlisted in the maths resource category and the winners will be announced on August 31.

As well as the CanDo series, Buzzard publishes Get the Buzz books, Livello and Little Livello.

For more information go to bit.ly/2AqE2lr