The headmaster of Giggleswick School referred to characters in the third Harry Potter book when describing the education system in his speech day address.

Geoffrey Boult said that many teachers felt like 'Dementors' from 'The Prisoner of Azkaban' had been at work draining away peace, hope and happiness and leaving only the worst and most painful memories.

He added that education was suffering under pressure from politicians and the national press causing the morale of staff and pupils in independent and state schools to become worryingly low.

He told the audience of staff, pupils, governors and guests: "The traditional 3Rs of education have been replaced by the 3Ts - testing, targets and tables. Increasingly you teach to the test, you set even higher targets and exam league tables become the sole criteria by which a school is judged."

Mr Boult said that education needed four strong pillars of quality teaching, the creative arts, physical education and human spirit and said that his school had each of these.

In his speech on Saturday Mr Boult paid tribute to staff members Michael Day, Gwen Taylor-Hall, Leanne Hogg and Mike Hall who are leaving the school.

He said: "The current staff also deserve a massive vote of thanks from myself and all the parents and pupils in this hall. They share the 24/seven dream and the commitment shown both in and outside the classroom is remarkable and not taken for granted. In particular the extra one to one lessons given over the last four weeks, at lunch, in the evening and on Sundays have done an incredible amount to reassure pupils and calm exam nerves."

Mr Boult said that the school had many reasons to be extremely confident about the future with the Lower Sixth showing every sign of wishing to emulate, if not better, the high standards set by the Upper Sixth with regard to A Level results.

Pupil registrations are already looking healthy for 2004 and many important development projects are currently under way such as the refurbishment and rebuild of Science, uniting Biology with Physics and Chemistry for the first time for a century.

The school is due to be inspected in November by both the Independent Schools Inspectorate and the National Care Standard for Boarding Agency but the headmaster said he was confident that the recommendations of past inspections had been acted upon.

Mr Boult welcomed the Mayor of Skipton, Councillor Paul English, to the Speech Day and also chief guest, Professor Katharine Perera, who presented prizes to pupils who had aimed for the highest standards, showing discipline, skill, knowledge and commitment.

Mr Boult said: "The school's history gives us confidence to build on our traditions. This school is built on rock, millstone grit, alongside carboniferous limestone. It is not built on the sand of league tables, or shaken by the waves of political fashion, but it relies on a hard core of values and trust which have stood the test of time."