A HIGH school is aiming to progress from its exam plateau to greater heights, its head told the audience at its annual awards evening.

Peter Dixon, head of Primet High School, Colne, pledged the school would continue to raise its targets in future.

Parents, staff and former pupils gathered at the school last night for the presentation evening.

Guest of honour was Kath Belton, principal of Nelson and Colne College.

In the summer, 41 per cent of students gained five or more A-C GCSE grades for the fourth consecutive year.

"The new published graph of improvement over this period shows a plateau, yet we know that 41 per cent in 1997 was better than 41 per cent in 1994," said Mr Dixon.

He added: "Exam results last year represented a great collective achievement but we have to remove those failures.

"This is called raising achievement, a concept to which we were committed long before it became fashionable government policy, not only because it contributes to the national good but also because it affects an individual's life chance."

Mr Dixon said the school, like its summer leavers, was in transition. In the school's case it was to become more effective. "As individuals you must develop and improve; so must we as a school," he said. "To stand still for either of us would be to go backwards." Main award winners were:

Ken Williamson Trophy for outstanding endeavour: Ria Del Bono.

Special awards of excellence went to Caroline Joyce, Andrew Wood, Sonia Brownsett and Gregg McDonald.

Awards of excellence: Zoe Anderton, Nicola Askew, Catherine Baggs, Louise Bailey, Andrea Beveridge, Rebecca Brennan, Adam Britner, Robert Brooks, Simon Brown, Shazia Butt, Philip Chester, Robert Clements, Adam Corteen, Martyn Dalby, Sarah Day, Kelly Farrar, Tracey Foxcroft, Laura Fry.

Diane Garnett, Matthew Garnett, Lisa Greenhow, Neil Harrison, Abigail Heywood, Alison Hoyle, Jayne I'Anson, Nasir Jaleel, Anna Kettlewell, Misbah Khan, Talha Khan, Gareth Kimber, John Lee, Leanne McLauchlan, Heather Meadway, Daniel Murray, Sarah Nicholson, Saima Noreen, Fiona Nutter, Gareth Ormerod.

Amer Pervaiz, Gemma Pitcher, Louise Renaud, Claire Riley, Joanna Rohman, Robert Scarisbrick, Stuart Scott, Darren Shaw, Marie Skelton, Andrew Spencer, Laura Spencer, Matthew Steele, Craig Storozuk, David Sutton, Ben Thurston, Peter Turner, Claire Walker, Ashley Walton, Alan Whitham, Mark Winton and Gareth Wiseman.

Awards for endeavour and commitment went to: Saiqa Abrar, Nathan Allen, Craig Baines, Caroline Barraclough, Stacey Berry, Cain Bramley, Craig Burrows, Bikyuk Chang, Clare Fawcett, Anne-Marie Hanson, Leah Hartley, Andrew Holden, Ben Howarth, Rachel Marsh, Sarah Ormerod, Gregory Parry, Amanda Richardson, Nathanael Robinson, Darren Tattersall and Tracey Whitaker.

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