THE first GCSEs of the 21st century at Middlewich High School came appropriately at the end of the 21st year of the school's history.

And they proved to be a matter of great pride and joy for the pupils, teachers, parents and, particularly, headmaster Philip Andrews who will retire at Christmas after 21 years in charge.

The school set a new record with a 64.1 per cent pass rate at grades A* to C, 57 per cent of pupils gained five or more A* to C passes and 80 per cent scored at least one grade C pass. Some 97 per cent achieved five or more A* to G grades, all of which adds up to the third best results in the school's history.

Mr Andrews said: "All subjects have contributed evenly to these outstanding figures. I greatly admire the way my colleagues lead and encourage the youngsters to better results year after year.

"This year, for example, a majority of pupils passed GCSEs in every subject, a great achievement. In Music and IT the pass rate was 100 per cent."

Reflecting the picture nationwide, girls led the way in individual performances at Middlewich with Laura Brown, Sarah Bottomley and Jenna McCaffery leading the way. Close on their heels were Kelly Burgess and Angela Wright, with Tanya Gilmore, Alison Bowyer, Katie Gill, Laura Ikin and Rachael Barker also highly commended.

The flag was carried for the boys by head boy Russel Whitney and his deputy Rob Evers.

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