THE headteacher of Hollins Technology College, Accrington, celebrated one of the school’s ‘best ever years’ at the annual prize night yesterday.

Mark Jackson pointed to record GCSE results, a successful Ofsted report and being named as one of the best performing schools in the county by the Government.

He said: “Examination results have never been more important and are, for many people, a vital stepping stone to a successful career.

“But good schools are about more than just academic success.

“We have worked hard to provide our students with the increasing opportunities to take part in a wide range of events, visits and extra-curricular activities, far too many to list.

“I would like to take this opportunity to thank all our staff for their dedication, commitment and support over the year.

“We really do have a fantastic teaching staff who give freely of their time to provide the lunchtime and after-school classes and the extra curricular opportunities that benefit so many of our students.”

Mr Jackson finished his speech by describing how the school was in times of rapid change.

He said: “We are preparing our students for an unpredictable future. What does the future hold? The only thing anyone can say for sure is nobody knows.

“I just want to share with you a few statistics which I think are worth repeating. The Institute for Fiscal Studies estimate today’s learners will have 10-14 jobs by the age of 38”

“One in four workers in the UK today is working for a company they have been employed by for less than a year. More than one in two are working for a company they have worked for for less than five years”

“Pretty scary stuff. But I believe that as a school we are preparing our students for the future.“ PICTURED: From the left, front, Cyrill Williams, Beth Pilling, Katie Kilcoyne, Joshua Ward, Lucy Stevenson, Hannah Colling, Mark Jackson, back Heather Pitman (chair of governors), Mayor of Hyndburn Pam Barton, Mayoress Susan Johnson, Victoria Robinson.

AWARDS: Special awards: The E.M. Collis Prize For Merit, Hannah Collins; The Rotary Award For Active Citizenship, Victoria Robinson; The Spirit Of The Hollins, Katie Kilcoyne; Lancashire Educational Business Partnership Award For The Most Enterprising Student, Amy Hart; The Bactrol Bursary For Youth Award, Victoria Robinson Subject trophies: Trophy for art, Jessica Kilby; Accrington & Rossendale College Trophy for business, Molly Shaw; Steve Roe Trophy for childcare, Sara Bano; The CFS Sports & Trophies award for drama, Daniel Starkie; The Training 2000 Trophy for engineering, Benjamin Atkinson; The North Lancs Training Group Trophy for English, Sakia Ali; The North Lancs Training Group Trophy for geography, Jordan Corke; The Accrington & Rossendale College Trophy for history, Joshua Ward; The P3 Computer Services Ltd Trophy for IT, Salyha Uddin; The Whewells of Accrington Trophy for mathematics, Hannah Collins; The Scott Trophy for modern foreign languages, Hannah Collins; The Trophy Centre [Accrington] Trophy for religious education, Hannah Collins; The Automotive Applied Technologies Trophy for science, Joshua Ward; The Alan Lund Trophy for excellence at sport, Alexandros Nikandrou; The Bactrol Trophy for technology, Food Ayesha Akhtar; The Home Office (Acc)] Trophy for technology - graphic products, Joshua Ward; The Victoria Glass & Glazing Trophy for technology, resistant materials, Jordan Corke; The Training 2000 Trophy for technology, systems & control, Jessica Kilby; The Caligen Foam Ltd Trophy for technology and textiles, Aimee Boobier. Sports trophies: Audrey Cooper Trophy for commitment to sport, Robert Harrison; Cherie Hughes Award for best sporting attitude, Ben Brierley.