'REMARKABLE' work at a school in York has been celebrated as it received a prestigious national award.

Accomplishments at York’s Archbishop Holgate’s School were celebrated this week as it was awarded the BTEC Award for School of the Year 2022 at the BTEC Awards.

With around 300 pupils in every year, the school is one of the largest in York. However, its teachers, pupils and everyone associated at the school didn’t let quantity come at the expense of quality, the judges said.

Andrew Daly, head of Archbishop Holgate’s said: “I and everyone associated with Archbishop Holgate’s could not be more delighted with being named BTECs School of the Year.

"I know only too well all the work that the pupils, the governors, parents, the teachers and all the other staff members have put in day in day out to make our school one that is a truly special place to learn. To see this recognised by one of our biggest stakeholders makes all of us so incredibly proud.”

The awards found that BTEC learners at Archbishop Holgate’s School are spoilt for choice when it comes to the experience opportunities their school offers. This year alone applied law students have gone to the court, engineering learners have done work at Northumbria University, protective services students have spent a week with the army and media and travel students were even lucky enough to go to Disneyland Paris.

However, it wasn’t just what Archbishop Holgate’s does for its pupils outside the classroom that wowed the judges. The judges that that the school’s ability to bring BTECs to life in the classroom was equally "outstanding."

They said each member of BTEC staff within its academy regularly demonstrated how passionate they are about the qualification they teach and the learners they are responsible for.

One of the judges said: "Archbishop Holgate’s fantastic pastoral and extra-curricular framework also contributed to its win. The school has an ethos and character that is consistently and convincingly built around a set of core values – justice, compassion, forgiveness and trust – which run at the heart of everything the school does."

Meanwhile, Freya Thomas Monk, senior vice president for Vocational Qualifications and Training at Pearson, said: “After two long years spent giving and receiving lessons behind a computer screen, through face masks, or socially distanced, 2022 has been a whirlwind for everyone involved in education.

"Considering this, it makes the inspiring achievements documented in Archbishop Holgate’s submission all the more impressive. The hard work and commitment its teachers, learners and everyone associated with it have demonstrated is extraordinary, and I am proud we were able to celebrate them all through this year’s set of awards.” 

Twenty award winners won prizes in categories including Health and Social Care, Engineering, Music, Esports and Creative Media.