TV STAR Saira Choudhry said the students were an inspiration at Pleckgate High School’s annual awards night as they celebrated their best ever GCSE results.

The former Hollyoaks actress told the students and their parents about her successes - and also how she bounced back from any failures.

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Pleckgate’s main winners on the night were Hania Buttar who secured 10 A*s in August and won the GCSE Prize as well as the Science Award.

Assad Awan collected the History Prize and the Chair of Governors and Head Teacher’s awards.

Zaynab Hafeja won the GCSE Prize and the Physical Education Award and was praised as, “one of the most successful sports students there has ever been at Pleckgate”.

Mrs Choudhry, who recently appeared in Channel 4’s “No Offence” drama, said: “The students were really inspirational and I am sure they will go on to do amazing things.

“I just want to inspire them and make sure they believe in themselves.

“I decided to be an actress at 21. I was a single mum of a three-year-old.

“I had no training and I had started a PGCE course but I had a burning desire to be a professional actress and I did it.

“I want to inspire the students to make sure they never give up, even when it’s tough, and they should believe in themselves.”

Acting headteacher Mark Bradshaw said: “I am proud to be acting head of this school.

“There has been a lot of hard work over the last five years and those who were in Year 11 last year have produced the school’s best ever GCSE results. It’s a credit to the students’ families, community and themselves.

“The results have been deserved and earned.

”All students leave Pleckgate well-rounded, hard-working and honest members of society. I want them to work hard and be happy.”

Other winners on the night included Aisha Seedat, Danyal Osman and Khizram Zeb, who all picked up GCSE Prizes while Fatima Dhira won the Michael Sumner Geography Prize as the school celebrated its highest GCSE results in 10 years in the geography department.

Meanwhile the Year 10s won the Phyllis Moss Charity Award as, through their various fundraisers, they collected £1,500 for good causes with the school collecting almost £10,000 as a whole over last year’s school year for charity.