STUDENTS from a York secondary school were rewarded for their achievements at its annual speech day and awards ceremony.

An audience of around 250 students, parents and guests attended the event at Archbishop Holgate’s CE School.

Head teacher John Harris offered his congratulations to the students and prize winners. Mr Harris said: “The last decade has been exciting and exhilarating, with the school placing itself more and more at the leading edge of innovation, being one of only a handful of schools nationally with ‘outstanding’ in Ofsted.

“This year we’ve been congratulated by the specialist schools and academics trust: for high performance and excellent results.”

Guest speaker the Very Rev Keith Jones, the Dean of York, encouraged pupils and parents to spend a minute each day being grateful that they are alive so that they could then adopt a positive approach. He also advised them to affirm and support other people and “always finish the job.”