A HEADTEACHER condemned the poor funding of Bury's schools describing it as "embarrassingly low" at his school's annual presentation evening.

Mr Alan Scott, headteacher of Tottington High School, launched his fierce criticism of Bury's slice of the Government's spending on education during his speech. Despite the poor funding he praised the hard work of pupils and staff in making the school an "outstanding institution".

He told assembled pupils, parents and guests: "High school funding is embarrassingly low when compared to other parts of the country.

"A school of comparable size in another part of the North West may be wealthier to the tune of £350,000 while a similar school in the South may receive nearly £800,000."

He said that this had "major repercussions" on staffing and resources for the school.

Mr Scott said: "Central Government funding remains grossly unfair and currently we are losers in Bury. "The local authority continues to make strong representations on behalf of eduction to-date without success. While we are prudent in spending the situation remains a major concern to all those of us in education."

Mr Scott congratulated the pupils whose achievements the evening marked.

He described them as establishing the "foundation upon which successes will be built for the future!"

The school celebrated its best ever GCSE results with 66 per cent of all candidates gaining five or more A* to C passes.

He praised parents for their part played and the hard work of staff. He paid tribute to past and present and new teachers. The head described their devotion and skill as "almost legendary".

He said: "Through Partnership Excellence, the school's motto, is very apt for it captures the spirit and ethics of what we undertake to do day-to-day. That is to create a friendly, purposeful and challenging working environment where students are valued equally whatever their skills and abilities and of course, that standards are set and maintained."

Awards presented on the night included the Ernest Stevenson Prize for technology. It has been instituted by former student Nicholas Woolley in memory of his grandfather. The prize will be awarded annually and the prizewinner receives a cheque for £100, a handsome trophy and a small medallion. The first pupil to receive it was Adam Thompson. Another award which was presented for the first time was the Tottington High School Shield for Personal Endeavour which was awarded to Lindsay Shinzil who has given 100 per cent to her studies despite problems.

As well as academic achievements, Mr Scott spoke about the wide ranging extra-curricular activities on offer for the pupils including drama, music, art, physical education and trips abroad.

"Extra curricular activities in all the areas provide an additional dimension for youngsters who thrive and flourish on the experiences."

Highlights of the past school year mentioned by Mr Scott included the refurbishment of various departments and creation of a fourth fully-networked suite of computers.

Mr Scott said: "On a night such as this I can boast about the quality of our school. It is an outstanding institution enjoying the respect of parents, the local authority and the community."