THE head teacher of Coniston's John Ruskin School praised Year 11 pupils for adapting positively to changes during their final year.

Welcoming guests to the annual awards' ceremony, Miriam Bailey said schools are going through a 'period of faster changes than ever before in education'.

"Students and staff barely have time to catch up with one change before another one seems to be introduced," she said. "Last academic year was typical of that and while most of us in the profession would agree that improvements needed to be made, the people in charge of this revolution have made the changes happen so rapidly that they have been in danger or damaging the outcomes and potential successes of students in the middle of the changes."

She said that due to governmental changes the speaking and listening component of the English Language GCSE was brought forward from the summer to December after the exam boards said it would not count if held in June.

Despite that, 75 per cent of students achieved a grade C or above with many surpassing their target grades.

"It is testament to our students' determination and loyalty that they grabbed this opportunity so emphatically and to the immense and intense amount of work that they and their teachers embraced, that the outcome was such a success," she said.

Musical performances during the evening came from the flute and brass ensemble, the GCSE band and a clarinet solo from Amy Hambly.

The guest speaker was Peter George, a former pupil and successful businessman, who has agreed to fund a new GCSE course at the school called Environmental and Land-based Science.

Mr George is CEO of Clinigen Group, a speciality global pharmaceutical company, and recently won CEO of the Year at the European Mediscience Award. He presented Year 11 prize winners with their GCSE certificates.

"I would like to think that the rare community culture that he has engendered in his business might have been inspired by his time at JRS," added Ms Bailey.