St Richard's prize giving

Staff and students met for a prize giving ceremony to mark achievements in college life.

Trophies and shields were presented to students for both academic and out-of-school successes.

Town Mayor Cllr Paul Lendon was on hand to witness the ceremony as were church officials and guests from organisations associated with the college.

Principal Tony Campbell told the audience how the college has raised 18,000 in the past year to donate to local and national charities.

He also said how proud he was the school had achieved 'grade 1' in all aspects of college life in an outstanding OFSTED report.

Mr Campbell said: "Tradition demands that a speech at prize evening by the principal should list all the achievements in all spheres over the last year. For a college like St Richard's which is full of talented pupils - especially my favourite year group of last year, this is an almost impossible task - at least within the time limit that could be considered reasonable this evening!"

Mr Campbell thanked staff and the Parent, Teacher Friends Association for their efforts. He also praised school clubs and the achievements of the sports teams.

He added: "The academic year 2006/07 proved to be a unique and eventful year for St Richard's. Firstly, it was a great success in terms of academic achievement. The young men and women of last year's Year 11 achieved a new school record and county record by achieving 74 per cent five or more GCSE at A star to C, including Maths and English, which is the new gold standard set by the Government for the first time for this year's results.

"This achievement placed the college, once again, in first place in the county, with second being 13 per cent behind this statistic and also in the top 100 11 to 16 maintained comprehensive schools in the country. I am also informed that the more important statistic, in relation to add on value, places the college in the top five per cent nationally."