A CHORLEY teacher and his son had a double reason to celebrate this week when both picked up their GCSE results at the same time.

Parklands guitar teacher Jim Lowe gained a B in Spanish after just 50 hours tuition while his son Peter, 16, got an A stars, four As, three Bs and two Cs .

Father-of-four Jim took lessons after school once a week with two other Parklands teachers.

He said: "I decided on Spanish so I could bring some authenticity to my guitar teaching.

"The staff at Parklands really went out of their way to help those of us who haven't been on the receiving end of lessons for some years.

"The style of teaching is much more relaxed and friendly than it was when I went to school in the 1960s and I really appreciate the help and support we were given."

Jim has now enrolled in a further Spanish course at Lancashire College, Southport Road. Peter will begin sixth form college in September.

Other pupils also did well:

Students at Parklands gained the second best results the school has ever had.

The top 10 pupils gained 60 A star grades and four pupils were awarded marks within the top five in the country for English Literature and Information and Computer Technology.

Pupils at Holy Cross gained the best results the school has ever seen. "We're all really pleased," said head Tony Charnock. "The results are significantly up on last year and we've had more pupils gaining five A star to C passes than ever before."

The scene was mirrored at St Michael's where pupils again got better results than ever before.

Headteacher Liz Nicholls said: "The results reflect a continuing trend of improvement at the school and I would like to congratulate all staff and pupils on this magnificent achievement."

Southlands High School students bagged record results this year, with 67 per cent gaining the equivalent of five or more A star to C passes. Head Hugh Crossan said: "These results are a tribute to the hard work and dedication of our staff and a recognition of the support of our governors, support staff and parents."

Albany High School headteacher Don Higgs said his school's results were in line with national trends. "We are pleased with what the children have achieved. One of our pupils, Carl Lewis, got seven A stars and 3As which is absolutely fantastic."

Bishop Rawstorne CE International Language College in Croston celebrated 75 per cent of pupils gaining five or more A star to C grades.