A BOLTON school is continuing to send out "able and caring" young people into society.

And this year is no exception for leavers at top-ranked Canon Slade as the school said farewell to its Year 11 pupils after exam and sporting success.

The packed leaving ceremony saw the return of a familiar face to the Bradshaw Brow school when the Reverend Beryl Smart, headteacher between 1978 and 1988, agreed to present commendations and prizes to deserving pupils.

Success has come in many forms for the leaving Year 11 in what current headteacher the Rev Peter Shepherd described as a "big year" for Church of England schools.

The school's success is evident in a glowing set of GCSE results which saw 77 per cent of pupils gaining five or more A* to C grades.

The average point score for the Year 11 group was 51.4 and the top ten pupils in the year group wowed everyone with an impressive 67 A*, 29 A and four B grades between them.

Mr Shepherd also praised an outstanding year of sporting achievement and the leaving Year 11's work for charities.

Commenting on the school's success in line with the role of church schools in society, Mr Shepherd said: "Our purpose is clear -- to provide an excellent education in the context of a Christian community.

"That is not just about good academic results -- as important as they are -- but about sending well-rounded, able and caring people out into a society which so urgently needs them.

"This year group has demonstrated just how well we do that."

Pupils highlighted for prizes and commendations were:

11B - Louise Dawson, Susannah Pickering, Nicola Wolson.

11C - Robin Farrell, Adam Prickett, Keri Webster.

11H - Susannah Brine, Danile Murphy, Debbie Woodcraft.

11L - Stephen Callery, Louise Gannon, Kate Higham, Sarah Moir, Helen Robinson.

11N - Lee Crawford, Paul Evans, Jonathan Findlay, Catherine Gregory, Rebecca Parrish, Katherine Rawle.

11R - Matthew Burns, Catherine Edwards, Sarah Gorner.

11S - Rebecca Green, Suzanne Isherwood, Rhiann Jackson, Amy Payne.

11T - Kate Finn, Alison Kenyon, Anna Raby, Katherine Shaw.

The Reginald Ladd's Prize was won by Toni Shaw and the Leigh-Bramwell Trust Awards went to Susannah Pickering for English and Katherine Shaw for mathematics.