THE head of a Darwen school has said that its recent GCSE results were the best on record despite tougher standards.

Darwen Aldridge Community Academy principal Brendan Loughran made the comments at the school’s annual awards evening.

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Among the award winners were Nicola Topping, who received the SJ Bolton Award for Most Promising Young Writer, and Lydia Buckley, who won the Chris Wilford Award for Mathematics.

The Sue Johnson Award went to Danielle Cromer and the Aldridge Foundation Pegasus Award for Entrepreneurship was given to Lewis Partington.

Mr Loughran said: “The GCSE class of 2015 achieved great exam results.

“We were delighted with the achievements against the background of tougher standards, removal of early exam entry, removal of equivalent exams, reduction of coursework and greater emphasis on the basics of spelling, punctuation and grammar in all subjects.

“Despite having to cope with these changes, the results of the GCSE class of 2015 have to go down as one of the best on record.

“There were many individual successes, and one record the students did set was a new high in the total number of top A/A* GCSE grades achieved.

“We were truly deserving of our first international award, receiving the 2015 Entrepreneurial School of the Year in Brussels. This year also saw us receive other awards, with recognition as BwD Hive Business Network Entrepreneurial School of the Year and the Lancashire Telegraph Secondary School of the Year.”