BEST-SELLING author Dr Michael Dobbs presented prizes at a grammar school speech night, thanks to a family connection.

Bacup and Rawtenstall Grammar School's headteacher Martyn Morris is the brother-in-law of Dr Dobbs, whose political trilogy about scheming Tory premier Francis Urquhart, beginning with House of Cards, was adapted for BBC TV.

Dr Dobbs had his name kept off the credits for the current Urquhart story, the Final Cut, because he said the adaptation was too anti-Tory.

Mr Morris said that Dr Dobbs could have had a successful career in politics but gave that up to write books. After graduating from Oxford University, Dr Dobbs was just beaten by Michael Portillo for the Tory nomination to fight for the Enfield Southgate by-election.

Mr Morris told the packed audience that last year had been the best in the school's history with a 92 per cent pass rate at A-level.

GCSE pupils had a 79 per cent pass rate in A-C grades with an average of eight passes per pupil.

Looking ahead, Mr Morris said he believed that the next century would see children attending a central building for only a few days a week.

Local educational networks would bring new technology into children's homes and, maybe, teachers would see different groupings of students on different days.

Teachers would be the technologists of education. Added Mr Morris: "I believe that we will see a radical rethinking and a fundamental redesign of our educational system.

"I am sure that in the near future we will be frustrated by politicians of all parties shouting about effectiveness and standards.

"They have all missed the real point.

"Global education has arrived and the mind-blowing consequences have to be addressed .

"We will not have a choice if we want to survive in the real world of tomorrow."

Sixth form reading prize, Kathryn Bradley; Year 11 reading prize, Sarah Foster; Year 10 reading prize, Lorien Stanfield; Year 9 reading prize, Taslima Choudhury; Year 8 reading prize, Alexandra Rowley; Year 7 reading prize, James Goulding.

George Allen Memorial Trophy for Music, Claire Turner; Dr P. Lord and O. M. Holt Memorial Prize for Music, Matthew Holt; Music Cup, Bryony Wolstenholme; Junior Music Shield, Christopher Parkinson; Simon Birch Memorial Prize for Music, Sarah Snape; Strawberry and Cream Award, Anne O'Donnell; Upper Sixth R.G. Phillips English Prize, Vikki Lane.

E. A. Holt Memorial Prize for English Literature, Vikki Lee; Freda Ebden Memorial Prize for English, Catherine Livesey; Dorothy Moore Mathematics Price, Andrew Swallow; Year 11 Alice Lonsdale Mathematics Prize, Christopher Lord; Year 10 Mrs B.J. White Mathematics Prize, Joanne Booker; Michael Churnside Mathematics Prize for Endeavour, Graham Riding; F. Harding Senior Geography Prize, Joanne Palmer; F. Harding Junior Geography Prize, Sidrah Arif, Rhianon Bowen, Sara Richardson, Steven Munro, Carolyn Suthers and Caroline Scott. P and S Filtration Prize for Economics, Darren Barnes; National Westminster Bank Prize for Economics, Ben Alderson; Howard Jackson Trophy for Business Studies, Tim Goddard; Calway, Hart and Sagar Prize for Business Studies, Phillip Wilkinson; William Copley French Prize, Deborah Yates; E.A. Whittaker Memorial Prize for German, Catherine Hindle and Carolyn Suthers; J.E. McLeroy Modern Language Prize, Amanda Riley and Peter Taylor; Dorothy Chadwick Sixth Form History Prize, Kathryn Bradley and Jane Partington.

Marlon Whittaker Sixth Form History Prize, Sian Buckley; Year 11 Margaret Moore History Prize, Rachel Kennedy, Claire Lomas and Vikki Lee; Elizabeth Culley Junior History Prize, Madeleine King, Martin Tickle, Taslima Choudhury, Jennifer Batt and Amy Bunting; Rowland Rawlinson Prize for Religious Studies, Leanne Morrissey; Religious Studies Prize, Mark Sutton, Amy Boyer and Katherine Rourke; GTI Information Technology Award, Edward Carr; Patricia Rawlinson Memorial Prize for Food Technology, Esther-Jane Locke; Geoffrey Wood Prize for Medicine, Abdul Mennan; Philip Lane Clark Award for Achievement in Science, Catherine Lord.

E.H. Holden Memorial Prize for Science, Adam Blomerley; Dr J.E. Brooks Upper Sixth Prize, James Ghalaey and Imran Khan; Zoe Shadlock Junior Science Prize, Jennifer Batt; Mrs J. Ormerod Senior Art Prize, Darren Hewitson; Mary Tomlinson Memorial Cup for Junior Art, Peter Burgess; Ashley Tyson Cup for Sports' Personality, Lisa Rothwell and Adam Murray; John Metcalfe Prize for Sport, Kathryn Warrener.

Junior Sports Trophies, Jenny Edmondson and Peter Reed; Felldancer Classic Cup for Orienteering, Michael Winnick; Harry Gibson Cup, Shelley Coulthurst; Old Rossendalians' Prize, Caroline Scott; David Johnson Prize for Service to the School and Community, Louise Talbot; Mary Dodds Head Boy Prize, Scott Cooper; Mary Dodds Head Girl Prize, Deborah Yates; Mayor of Rossendale's Progress Prize, Shaun O'Leary and Louise Rogers; Hugh Owen Memorial Prize for Girls, Alexandra Robinson; Hugh Owen Memorial Prize for Boys, Matthew Johnson; Fred Wild Prize, Susan Kay.

Year Prizes: Upper Sixth E.H. Holden Prizes, Adam Blomerley, James Ghalaey, Imran Khan, Catherine Lord, Abdul Mannan, Joanne Palmer, Anthony Richardson, Andrew Swallow and Deborah Yates.

Lower Sixth, Catherine Ashton, Ben Blomerley, Mark Bury, Darren Gray, Claire Houliston, Beth Jackson, Rebecca Lloyd, Sarah Reid, Graham Riding, Sally Trippier and Paul Young. Year 11: Emma Anforth, Rhianon Bowen, Philip Ham, Catherine Hindle, Lynette Hindle, Rachel Kennedy, Vikki Lee, Christopher Lord, Anna Nash, Matthew Richardson, Sara Richardson, Caroline Scott, Carolyn Suthers and Richard Thomas.

Year 10: Nicola Beavan, Pauline Bowden, Jennifer Boyer, Ruth Burthom, Stuart Crossley, Rachel Edwards, April Jenkins, Philippa King, Julie Lloyd, Lorien Stanfield and Michelle Stott.

Form 9B: Jocelyn Masser and Rebecca Greenhalgh. Form 9G: Claire Rhodes and Kelly Bridge. Form 9M: Catherine Trickett and Jennifer Batt. Form 9R: Taslima Choudhury and Kirsty Walmsley. Form 9S: Laura Jane Healey and Gemma McEvoy.

Form 8B: Jennifer Hawke and Catherine Hargreaves. Form 8G: James Brierley and Daniel Hesford; Form 8M: Gemma Hughes and Sarah Snape. Form 8R: Andrew Scott and Laura Bugden. Form 8S: Richard Taylor and Paul Booth.

Form 7B: Alexandra Robinson and Claire Wilkinson. Form 7G: Matthew Johnson and Susan Kay. Form 7M: Katie Armstrong and Christopher Dance. Form 7R: Jolyon Foster and Georgina Ormrod. Form 7S: Alexander Hillel and Michael Dewar.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.