A HEAD teacher has praised parents for helping him to challenge anti-social behaviour and increase respect for others.

Speaking at the school's annual speech night last night, Robin Campbell, head of Pleckgate High School, Blackburn, said the link between home and school was vital.

He said it was needed to counter anti-social behaviour of young people in society, and that parents have a responsibility to work with the school to develop basic values.

He said: "We will challenge anti-social behaviour and we will seek to engender a culture of high expectation for others, but cannot achieve this without the support of families.

"It needs a concerted effort if we are to bring about a cohesive society in which our young adults are to take their place as responsible citizens in a rapidly expanding and developing multicultural borough such as Blackburn with Darwen. I am grateful that, here at Pleckgate, we are fortunate in the level of support we receive from our parents and this must be seen as a contributory factor in our continued success -- we are grateful for that support."

Mr Campbell, who is the new head of the Pleckgate Road school, having taken over from former head Heather Jamison, also praised the efforts of staff and pupils in raising £6,300 during the past year, a mammoth total of £20,000 in the past three years, for charity.

And he praised the school's transformation over the past 12 months with the opening of the £1.2million City Learning Centre with its state-of-the-art ICT facilities, which will benefit not only pupils and staff at the school, but also the wider community of Blackburn with Darwen.