'There is nothing that cannot be achieved from Aireville'

He cheekily asked his audience: "Hands up how many of your fathers and husbands have suddenly taken an interest in gardening?"

Followed by: "How many of you think Charlie Dimmock should wear a support bra? How many of you will stop watching if she does?"

His witty, anecdotal speech, which tickled young and old, included this quick Groundforce viewers' survey.

Mr Titchmarsh said he had left school at 15 with one O-level and he was constantly amazed at where he had ended up.

He spoke of his own school days and told pupils they would remember their teachers for three reasons; for their encouragement, their discouragement and the one you had the soft spot for!

On a more serious note he praised the "remarkable" school for taking pride in the efforts of all its pupils, from the youngster who had worked tirelessly to attain one G in their GCSEs to the highfliers with their A stars.

He urged every pupil to live life to the full. "Follow your dreams, listen to the teacher who says 'you can do that' when you think you can't," he said.

"If there were two things I could wish for you or pass on from my life, God I sound old, what would they be?" he asked.

He told pupils to follow their instincts as, in his experience, they seldom let you down, and secondly asked them to pass on any knowledge they had that could help others.

There was good reason for the school to celebrate. In his report, headmaster David Croll said last year's GCSE results were the best the school had ever recorded.

"This year 38 per cent of our pupils achieved five or more passes at grades A to C. This was an increase of five per cent from the previous record, set two years ago. Forty-five per cent of the grades were at A to C. There were seven A* grades usually awarded to the top five per cent of candidates nationally. This was from a year group of which 32 per cent had been selected for the grammar schools five years ago.

"These pupils had not allowed the vagaries of the 11+ selection system to limit their ambitions," he said.

He continued: "Examination successes are very important, but a good education is much more than just a list of grades."

Mr Croll spoke of the many other opportunities at Aireville including rock climbing, canoeing, and trips to Brittany and Paris. He praised all the sports teams and the popular school band.

He also spoke with pride about some of the school's former pupils who had written to thank Aireville for their education. Many of them had gone on to gain honours degrees at university.

"They enable me to say again to our present pupils that there is nothing that cannot be achieved from Aireville. I look forward to reporting on your successes in future years."

The building of a new 10-classroom block at Aireville is now well underway, and Mr Croll said he expected it be finished by November.

He added: "We have taken this opportunity to review all our accommodation and to plan for the future. The maths and English departments will be accommodated in the new block with a very modern information technology room.

"When we move into the new block we will be able to expand the library again, linking it to the IT suite to form a new resource centre, which will be available to pupils during and outside the school day.

"These are all exciting developments and demonstrate our commitment to provide the best possible education for our pupils in the best possible facilities."

Prizes

Headmaster's prizes - John Pemberton and Sarah Nowell

Merritt Trophy for outstanding effort - Zaid Ramzan

Ogden Prize for perseverance - Thomas Greenbank

Les Watson Trophy for service to the community - Lisa Athersmith

Cag Thompson Art Trophy - Zoe Smales

David Foster Memorial Prize for CDT - Joseph Ewen

Steven Greenwood Cup for service to the community - Sam Teal

Norman Vaulkhard Trophy for performing arts - Natalie Dunn

Jason Miller Shield for endeavour - Andrew Raine

Donald Thornton Shield for crafts - Robert Smithies

Work Experience Trophy - Amy Brewster

Anthony Knowles Cup for PE - Nicholas Breckon

Lister Trophy for service to the school - Matthew Wong

Charlotte Stirk Trophy for humanities - Dawn Braham

Outdoor Pursuits Shield - Andrew Guy.

Subject awards

Art - Laura Burdett; child development - Leanne Slater; resistant materials - Andrew Jolly; food technology - Charlene Beck; English Language - Laura Bell; English Literature - Sarah Nowell; French - Simon Doane; geography -Kimberley Lee; history - Claire Warren; ICT - John Pemberton; maths - Lauren Macready; music - Nichola Tooley; PE - Craig Quigley and Gemma Clarke; religious education - Sophie Nicholls; science - Laura Coates; work related learning - Carl Simpson.

Form Prizes

Year 7- Emma Armitage, Liam Coates, Sophie Robinson, Mark Waddington, Laura Probst.

Year 8 - Natthaya Gibb, Carly Neale, Natalie Wood, Anthony Scott, Jonathan Smith.

Year 9 - Gemma Hollings, Stephanie Rushton, Olivia Foster, Rowena Rothwell, Cherell Mills.

Year 10 - Usman Munir, Ross McCulloch, Shaun Barraclough, Laura Marsden, Emma Wood.

Year 11 - Leigh Gardiner, Matthew Wong, Rachel Johnson, Liam Ideson, Charlene Beck.