High achievers at Greenhead High School have been rewarded for their hard work at the school's annual presentation evening.

Students from across the Utley school were awarded prizes to commend attendance, homework, good performance in their GCSEs and general progress.

Parents and students were welcomed to the evening by chairman of governors Viv Thompson and the school's new head teacher Tricia McCarthy.

Guest speaker for the evening was barrister Mukhtar Hussain QC, who urged parents not to be over protective of their children and to give them a degree of independence.

Mr Hussain said that given time and opportunity, children would seize the future.

He was, however, critical of proposed changes to university funding which he claimed would discriminate against children with potential from less well-off communities.

Head boy Matthew Gardner and head girl Zahra Naqvi also presented a review of the school year to the audience.

Senior teacher Marilyn Boyd said: "It was a very enjoyable evening and a fine way of rewarding students who have achieved so much during the school year."

Student of the year awards were presented to children in each of the year groups.

The year seven prizes went to Lucy Carrington and Majid Chowdhury, with Rachel Halford and Wayne Fortune receiving the awards for year eight

Shalehah Miah and Frazer Weir picked up the awards in year nine, with Nadia Zaman, Ilyas Khaliq and Jennifer Redman taking the prizes in year ten.

Asia Ali and Mark Rutherford were awarded the prizes in year 11. Khalique Miah and Rasheda Khatun received awards for the best performance at GCSE.

The first recipients of the Jennett Evans prize for modern languages -- awarded in memory of the former Greenhead head teacher -- went to Wayne Fortune and Danielle Stevenson.

The Nazima Hussain Memorial Prize for students in years 12 and 13 was presented to Taira Ali, with the Outstanding Sixth Form Contribution prize going to Matthew Gardner. Asma Ali was awarded the Going On Prize.

l Students at Greenhead are opening wide to help a national survey on young people's teeth.

Year nine pupils are letting dentists examine their molars as part of a national review aimed at improving the nation's gnashers.

The results from Greenhead and other schools across the country will be sent to the NHS for analysis.