ARNOLD School celebrated a year of outstanding success both in and out of the classroom at the annual speech day recently.

School principal William Gillen took great pride in announcing the school's A level examination results at the event, held at the Empress Ballroom in the Winter Gardens, when 97 per cent of candidates passed in three or more subjects. Fifteen pupils also passed a total of five subjects, and particularly outstanding were the mathematics results where 64 per cent of entrants scored A* and A grades. Looking ahead to the new-format A level examinations, Mr Gillen expressed his reservations about their shortcomings, urging pupils not to let them dominate their school life to the exclusion of sporting and cultural activities.

"People in positions of influence seem to have forgotton that the best things in education are often those that cannot be measured. And it is the development of the whole person and the understanding of values, rather than just the facts, that really matter," he said.