PUPILS at a Darlington school have been honoured for their hard work at an awards evening.

Final-year students at Eastbourne Comprehensive School were presented with their GSCE and GNVQ certificates at the event, with some picking up special awards.

The school has had a turbulent time in recent years. It was placed into special measures after it was ranked 182nd out of the 200 worst schools in the country.

But this year's exam results were a record for the school, with 34 per cent of pupils achieving five or more C+ passes.

And earlier this month, the Government withdrew the special measures.

Darlington businessman Alasdair MacConachie was invited by headteacher Karen Pemberton to present the awards and he pledged to support the school by providing additional trophies for next year's ceremony.

Certificates were presented to :

Alexander Ainslie, Michael Airey, Luke Anderson, Paul Appleby, Mark Askew, Gary Bainbridge, Peter Bainbridge, Carl Bell, Neil Bell, Rachel Bell, Daniel Bentley, Jade Berry, Leanne Bexfield.

Danielle Pallister, Natalie Bowron, Craig Brooker, Lyndsey Brown, Michael Bruce, Kelly Burnside, Michael Burnside, Emma Burton.

Simon Callow, Wayne Calvert, Christopher Carter, Matthew Chalk, Melanie Charles, Samantha Charlton, Samantha Chilcott, Darran Clarkson, Mandy Coad, Helen Cocker, Gareth Cooper, Ashleigh Copeland, Leanne Copeland, Maurice Crang, Amanda Crawford, Peter Cresser, Hannah Crossland, Adam Cummins, James Davidson, Karl Davidson, Emma Ditchburn, Rebecca Downie, Philip Duffy, Ryan Durham, Sarah Durkin.

Jamie Eales, Kathryn Earley, David Farry, Gemma Fennell, Kenneth Beatson, Darren Frazer, James Garbutt, Laura Gibson, Jade Gilbert, Sean Gowling, Emma Graves, Owen Green, Lauren Grimshaw, Christopher Gruitt.

Philip Haines, Linda Hall, Carl Hamilton, Jason Harland, Luke Hawkes, Miles Haymer, Neil Hepper, Daniel Hewitson, Ricky Hickman, Matthew Hindle, Liam Holdsworth, Paul Holmes, Scott Holmes, Toni Hughes, Melissa Hutchinson, Michelle Hutchinson.

Samuel Ironside, Liam Irvine, Christopher Jackson, Christopher Johnson, Craig Johnson, Jaspreet Kaur, Laura King, James Kirkup, Martyn Kirtley, Valentine Kneeshaw, Claire Kovacs.

Adam Lamb, Christopher Lamb, Laura Lambert, Christopher Lane, Jacob Littlefair, Ashleigh-Louise Marriner, John McCallum, Leanne McConnell, Lisa McConnell, Stacey McConnell, Nichola McFadyen, Benjamin McGill, Kerri McKenna, Emily McLaren, Sarah McLaren, Thomas Metcalfe, Kayleigh Miller, Samantha Mitchell, Kirstie Monk, Leon Muirhead.

Ann-Marie Nesbit, Kevin Nicholson, Victoria Ormerod, Louise Osbourne, Laura Park, Stacey Pattison, Michael Peacock, Adam Peel, Lucy Poynton, Leanne Ramshaw, Steven Raper, Darryl Roberts, Carl Robertson, Caroline Robinson, Nicola Robson, Tony Rochester, Kieran Rollason, Lucas Roy.

Samantha Shields, Ami Simpson, Ashleigh Simpson, Sarah Sinclair, Daniel Smith, Lisa Smith, Nathan Smith, Laura Sowersby, Paul Stewart, Catherine Stobie, Sarah Sturgeon, Bradley Tarren, Nicholas Taylor, Dale Thomas, Samantha Thompson, Ben Tunstall, Andrew Verrill.

Gemma Walker, Christopher Wall, Amanda Walls, Mark Washburn-Tenwick, Adele Watson, Lewis Webb, Lesley Wennington, Kelly Whitmore, Karl Whittam, Donna Whitwell, Lisa Wilcock, Sarah Williams, Simon Williams, Allan Winter, Charlene Winter, Nicola Winterburn, Sarah Wise, Benjamin Wood, Natasha Wood, Hayley Woodcock, Vanessa Woodford, Lee Woods, Amy Wray, Lauren Wright, Stacey Yellin.

Special Awards:

English: Achievement - Sarah Williams, Improvement - Tom Metcalfe; Maths: Achievement - Christopher Johnson, Improvement - Claire Kovacs; Science: Achievement - Christopher Johnson, Improvement - Samuel Ironside; Design Technology: Achievement - Emma Ditchburn, Improvement - Claire Kovacs.

French: Achievement - Laura Sowersby, Improvement - Gemma Fennell; Italian: Achievement - Jade Gilbert, Improvement - Sarah Williams; German: Achievement - Michelle Hutchinson, Improvement - Hannah Crossland.

History: Achievement - Michelle Hutchinson, Improvement - Laura Park; Geography: Achievement - Hannah Crossland, Improvement - Philip Duffy; Drama: Achievement - Lisa McConnell, Improvement - Dale Thomas; Art: Achievement - Jade Gilbert, Improvement - Lauren Grimshaw; Photography: Achievement - Victoria Ormerod; Music: Achievement - Leanne McConnell, Improvement - Leon Muirhead.

Physical Education: Achievement - Philip Haines, Improvement - Maurice Crang, Special Award - Bradley Tarren; Religious Education: Achievement - Laura Gibson, Improvement - Kayleigh Miller; Health & Social Care: Achievement - Emma Ditchburn, Improvement - Stacey Yellin.

The Copeland Award for Services to the Community - Kevin Nicholson; The Headteacher's Award for Excellence - Michelle Hutchinson; Achievement Awards (5 or more A*, A or B grades) - Hannah Crossland, Emma Ditchburn, Laura Gibson, Jade Gilbert, Michelle Hutchinson, Laura King, Thomas Metcalfe, Kirstie Monk, Laura Sowersby, Hayley Woodcock.

Awards for 100 per cent attendance in Year 11 - Helen Cocker, Amanda Crawford, Jamie Eales, David Farry, Lisa McConnell, Victoria Ormerod, Stacey Pattison, Lucy Poynton, Leanne Ramshaw, Ashleigh Simpson, Nicholas Taylor, Christopher Wall, Benjamin Wood.