THE acting headteacher of a Blackburn secondary school paid tribute to pupils, parents and staff during his first ever prize night speech.

Alan Child, who took over the helm of Beardwood School when headteacher Roger Eckton fell sick earlier this year, the day after the school boiler broke down, said staff and members of the local education authority had rallied round in "difficult times".

And he highlighted the new motto Together for Excellence as the way forward for the Preston New Road School. Mr Child said: "Beardwood has three targets, to raise achievement, to improve pupil behaviour and to improve attendance and punctuality -- and there is very strong evidence of success already.

"Beardwood has it's sights set firmly on progress and improvement. Schools are about hearts and minds and Beardwood has a fine record for educating the whole person."

Mr Childs said he was pleased to have the opportunity to address the audience, which included guest speaker and assistant editor of the Lancashire Evening Telegraph Nick Nunn.

And he listed some of the achievements of the school over the past 12 months as well as some future projects which include the establishment of a student council in September and an out of hours homework club.

He went on: "This is an incomplete list but I wanted to give you a sense of the vibrancy of life at Beardwood. I am proud to be a part of it and I know you are.

"Let's make it even better and lets do it together. Let us make the motto real."

Picture: Nick Nunn (third left) and Alan Child are seen with prizewinning pupils taking part in the school's year of achievement celebration (from left) Asim Hanif, Farzana Miah, Abdul Farhat, Elizabeth Smith and Uzma Baig, all 14