An education web site set up by a schoolboy has beaten off tough competition to win a major award.

Tom Hadfield, who created Schoolsnet when he was just 16, collected the award for the best web content at the Internet Business Awards at The Corn Exchange, Brighton.

The judges praised the site for being information-packed but easy to use.

They said it stood head and shoulders above the rest of the competition.

The teenager set up www.schoolsnet.com with his father Greg and the pair are also responsible for creating the world's most popular football site, Soccernet.

Greg Hadfield, chairman and editor-in-chief of Schoolsnet, said: "It is a fantastic honour to have won such an important award within a year of our launch. It is a tribute to the efforts and talents of our staff, teachers and content partners."

The web site, which includes a guide to every school in the United Kingdom with examination results and Ofsted reports, has been valued at £40 million.

It joined forces with Newsquest, publishers of the Argus, and Brighton IT solutions group fdm in April this year.

Other winners included Reading Room, which won the award for Best Business-to-Business Web Design, and 16-year-old Oliver Watts who was named as the Young Achiever of the Year.