A SPECIAL guest joined parents, pupils and staff of Verdin High School to celebrate the achievements of pupils over the past school year.

Paul Crone, a television reporter from Granada Reports, was the guest speaker at the presentation evening, which was held at Winsford Civic Hall on Thursday evening.

He thanked the school for his invitation to the event and said he was exceptionally impressed with all of the pupils, wishing them the best of luck in their future studies.

Pupils were awarded with prizes for effort and achievement, attendance and commendable exam results, and a whole host of special prizes were also given out.

Jackie Davies, deputy head at the school, said: "More than 800 guests joined us for a very successful evening celebrating the many achievements of the school - from academic achievements to citizenship.

"Paul Crone was a very popular choice of speaker - he was very interesting and entertaining and we don't know how we'll top him next year."

The annual presentation evening was the crowning event to a year in which the school saw record-breaking achievements in GCSE and A-level examinations.

The number of pupils gaining five or more A* to C results in their GCSEs rose by eight per cent, bringing the record to 55 per cent, and the number of pupils achieving at least one grade pass rose to 98 per cent.

And Winsford Sixth Form, made up of Verdin High and Woodford Lodge students, achieved 100 per cent pass rates in 12 A-level subjects.

gbebbington@guardiangrp.co.uk

For a list of all the winners from Winsford High School's presentation evening go to the Schools News section on the website. There's a link to it on the left hand side of this page.