On the 10th anniversary of the annual schoolbook award made by the Saltire Society and TES Scotland, the winning publisher is the one which has featured most frequently among the winners and commendations over the years, Hodder amp; Stoughton.

The award, which is aimed at encouraging publications for the three-18 Scottish education market, goes this year to Turnstones 1: an English course for Scotland, which is aimed at S1 and S2 pupils. It has six contributors who are well known in English teaching circles.

The judges find it “valuable in encouraging children to write for themselves and, although aimed at the early years of secondary school, it could be used at almost any secondary level to give a structure to creative writing”.

They add: “We were pleased that the (illustrative) extracts were essentially from Scottish sources and interested in the existence of extension work in the form of a CD-Rom. This balance of printed text to electronic made the work accessible without computer support but allowed that facility to be utilised if readily available.

“On the downside, it was thought that the illustrations had a rather dated look, but maybe this was an attempt to make them more timeless.”

Of the 33 entries for the award, the judges have commended two. Cr me de la Cr me published by Canongate Books (edited by Gordon Jarvie and Cameron Wyllie, pound;7.99) is an anthology of the best of creative writing for the Certificate of Sixth Year Studies from 1991 to 2001.

This “very good idea”, as the judges describe it, gives pupils’ writing “deservedly wider exposure and provides a testimony to a disappearing qualification (CSYS) which has never received the recognition it has deserved”. It could also provide a benchmark and inspiration for Advanced Higher English students.

Also commended is Barrington Stoke, the small Edinburgh publisher founded to provide materials for readers with difficulties. The book singled out for praise is The Blessed and the Damned by Sara Sheridan (pound;4.50), which is aimed at engaging the interest of 13 to 16-year-olds through text for a reading age of eight-plus.

Next month Barrington Stoke is launching a series, 4u2read.ok, which is directed at struggling readers aged eight to 13 years with a reading age younger than eight. Initially it will feature six titles.

The judges describe the publishers’ output as “a very necessary and carefully structured set of support literature for the reluctant reader”. The Blessed and the Damned “provides themes and issues with which teenage reluctant readers can engage without feeling patronised and yet presents these in language that they could cope with”, they say.

The pound;500 award to the winning publisher will be presented at a reception on Thursday, March 21.

This year’s judges were Linda Boyle of Cornton Primary, Stirling, Jim McGonigle of Hermitage Academy, Helensburgh, Dr Ian McGowan of Stirling University, Alistair McMillan of Castlehead High, Paisley, and Gerald Mortimer, formerly of Strathclyde University.