Pictured above: Nottingham business tycoon Chris Scarth, director of Prime Principle Ltd

Nottingham business tycoon Chris Scarth, director of Prime Principle Ltd, has been named an Entrepreneur of the Year finalist at the Business Awards Nottinghamshire 2010, run by Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire Chamber of Commerce (DNCC).

Borne from an undergraduate research project as part of a software engineering degree at Nottingham Trent University, Prime Principle's award-winning Classroom Monitor (www.classroommonitor.co.uk) software is now used by over 15,000 teachers in over 1,500 schools and nurseries across the UK and internationally.

After graduating from Nottingham University in 2002, Chris took the experience and principles he gained to embark on his brave entrepreneurial venture with David Francis, founding Prime Principle. The company's solution, Classroom Monitor is an online interactive markbook which has been developed and commercialised to meet teachers' assessment requirements. By streamlining the reporting process it allows teachers to spend less time on paperwork and more time in the classroom teaching.

Chris is a dynamic entrepreneur whose experience as a student, start-up owner and business director of a rapidly growing small business leave him well-placed to offer a unique contribution to the active development of the East Midlands. Bringing his own wealth of expertise to Nottingham's business industry, he now mentors two other start-up companies in offering strategies to adopt and insight into the respective markets they operate in.

Chris' clear vision continues to drive Prime Principle forward and his astute understanding of the education sector has been invaluable to the growth in sales, the exceptional staff retention rate and extremely high level of customer satisfaction.  His passion for business, the product offering and the future business planning, means employees have a clear view of the company's vision and objectives for achieving future market growth and stability. Despite the renowned success of his business, Chris has managed to remain grounded and truly dedicated to his team of staff.

Prime Principle's commitment to exceptional customer service is reflective of Chris's approach: by interacting on a daily basis and spending up to one day per week training schools not only in the Nottinghamshire region, but nationwide, Chris keeps Classroom Monitor at the heart of schools and their everyday practices.

Chris Scarth, Commercial Director at Prime Principle comments: "I am thrilled to be named a finalist at the Business Awards Nottinghamshire 2010 and believe this is testament to the hard work and dedication shown by the entire team at Prime Principle. We are extremely proud to be working with over 1500 schools and look forward to catering to the needs of teachers today and in the future."

George Cowcher, Chief Executive of the Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire Chamber, comments: "As a Business Awards Nottinghamshire finalist, Chris has demonstrated the instrumental role he plays in the success of his business. We look at the overall performance of the business over the last three years, what the entrepreneur believes makes them different and their vision for the future of the business. We wish Chris and all our finalists every success and look forward to announcing the winner in September."

Chris Scarth will join other finalists at a prestigious, black tie awards ceremony at Colwick Hall Hotel on Friday 24th September 2010.