A teacher from Sidmouth has won a top award after he invented a piece of software used by schools all over the world.

Ben Dunford, 28, created EPraise, an online rewards system designed to motivate students, and has since seen it transferred to classrooms as far away as Dubai and Indonesia.

He still teaches part-time, but said the success of his website means he may have to give up and go full-time, something he didn’t imagine when he had the original idea.

The former Sidmouth College pupil said he remembered a reward system from when he was at school, and wanted to create something similar but where points and rewards could be accessed online.

Having studied computer science at Exeter University, he wrote the programme for EPraise himself, which has since become a hit with learning establishments around the world, as well as schools in 14 UK counties.

As a result he was given the Young Entrepreneur of the Year award at the Exeter Business Awards 2013, for being a ‘highly motivated entrepreneur who demonstrates ambition, energy, skill and vision as well as tangible business success’.