A Darlington school which achieved its best examination results this year celebrated at an awards evening.

Pupils and staff from Eastbourne Comprehensive School were praised for their work at the ceremony, held at Queen Elizabeth Sixth Form College.

Geoff Pennington, Darlington Borough Council's director of education, presented certificates and prizes.

The school's GCSE and GNVQ results this year saw 31 per cent of year 11 pupils achieving five or more good GCSE passes.

Pupils in years nine and ten also achieved passes in GCSE French and GCSE expressive arts.

Prizewinners were: English Achievement - Michael Smith, English Improvement - Laura Green, Maths Achievement - Andrew Evans, Maths Improvement - Karl Bossingham, Science Achievement - Sarah Atkins, Science Improvement - Sarah Moore, D&T Achievement - Michelle Roberts, D&T Improvement - Sarah Marshall, French Achievement - Michelle Roberts, French Improvement - Claire Naisbitt, German Achievement - Terry Welch, German Improvement - Robert Philips, History Achievement - Sarah Atkins, History Improvement - Andrew Evans, Geography Achievement - Kayleigh Waite, Geography Improvement - David Barker, Drama Achievement - Andrew Atkinson, Drama Improvement - Sarah Atkins, Art Achievement - Laura Green, Art Improvement - Mark Heseltine, Photography Achievement - Peter Stollery , Photography Improvement - Ian Wake, Music Achievement - Richard Copeland, Music Improvement - Lauren Moody, Media Studies Achievement - Terry Welch, Media Studies Improvement - Daniel Purdie, PE Achievement - David Barker, PE Improvement - Daniel Purdie, RE Achievement - Sara Hassan, RE Improvement - Suzanne Hodgeson, Manufacturing Achievement - Joanna Cowley, Manufacturing Improvement - Mark Heseltine, ICT Acheivement - Andrew Evans, ICT Improvement - Claire Batty.

For exceptional achievement at GCSE - Sarah Atkins, Andrew Atkinson, David Barker, Victoria Bull, Andrew Evans, Claire Grainger, Laura Green, Sara Hassan, Elisabeth Hunter, Becky McCallum, Daniel Purdie, Michael Smith, Kayleigh Waite.

Attendance awards: Sarah Hassan, Claire Macmaster, Michelle Roberts, Martin Young, Michael Slater, Richard Copeland.

The Vince Rosindell Cup for English - Sara Hassan, The Barbara Thompson Award for English - Sarah Caygill, The Science Achievement Cup - Sara Hassan, The Lindsley-Blythe Award for Art - Laura Green, The Lowrey -Cook Prize for Art - Mark Heseltine, The School Drama Prize - Andrew Atkinson, The Bob Dingle Prize for Music - Richard Copeland, The Pupils' Prize for Continuous Effort - Matthew Hall and Claire Grainger, The Headteacher's Prize - Andrew Evans.

Early entry French GCSE - Paul Appleby, Peter Bainbridge, Maurice Crang, Hannah Crossland, Emma Ditchburn, Jade Gilbert, Emma Graves, Philip Haines, Michelle Hutchinson, Samuel Ironside, Christopher Johnson, Thomas Metcalfe, Kirstie Monk, Nicola Robson, Sarah Sturgeon, Bradley Tarran, Andrew Verrill, Christopher Wall, Mark Washburn-Tenwick, Sarah Williams, Hayley Woodcock.

Early Entry GCSE Expressive Arts: Dominic O'Keeffe (Year 9), Tara Downes (Year 9), Leanne Copeland, Gemma Fennell, Laura Park, Ami Simpson, Laura Sowersby, Amanda Walls, Sarah Williams.