THE headteacher of Witton Park Business and Enterprise College said pupils had exceeding her highest expectations over the past year.

Speaking at the Blackburn school’s prize night yesterday Gwen Onyon said: “The outcomes of your GCSE examination results are the best ever achieved by our school – 99 per cent gained 1 or more A*-G Passes, 41 per cent gained 5A*C passes including English and Maths – an 11 per cent increase on last year – and 70 per cent gained 5A*-C passes.

"Our congratulations to you all. A tremendous achievement.

“I’m sure that you will appreciate you have always been encouraged by everybody at school and your parents to do your best to work hard and to aim high. You have certainly reached those goals.

“Our aim is always to inspire you to achieve all that you are capable of.

“You have clearly demonstrated exactly that, exceeding even the highest expectations initially set.

“We are very proud of each and every one of you. Nothing great is ever achieved without hard work and determination.

“Take from life what you can but don’t forget that we can all gain so much by supporting each other, challenging and encouraging each other so that we can fulfil our aspirations.

“Successful people in life know what they want and how they are going to get there, the most successful don’t forget where they come from, they build on their friendships and work genuinely with others to achieve success.”

PICTURED: Back: Adam Catterall (guest speaker from Rock FM), Omar Dagia, Andrew Parker, Danny Goddard, Charlotte Eddleston, Kerry Meikleham, Keira McPartlan, Gwen Onyon (head teacher). Front: Josh Ratcliffe, Amy King, Jade Charnley, Sughra Shah.

PRIZE WINNERS: Headteacher's Award: Sughra Shah.

Governors' Awards: Charlotte Eddleston, Andrew Parker, Kerry Meikleham. Science Prize: Farzana Khanom. Jim Hutchinson Maths Prize: Amy King. George Kirby Special Sports Prize: Keira McPartlan. East Lancashire Tile Company Sports Prize - Josh Ratcliffe. Capita Business Prize: Omar Dagia. Alternative Curriculum Award: Jade Charnley. Steven Anderton Award: Daniel Goddard.