STUDENTS celebrated success in style at an annual awards ceremony marking the culmination of a year of hard work.
Academic, sporting and community accolades were awarded to Year seven to eleven students at Longfield Academy of Sport, Darlington.
Special guest and leading educationalist Mark White told a packed audience of family, friends, staff and students what a superb place Darlington was to grow up.
“I came here 40 years ago and fell in love with the place,” said the chairman of the Longfield Academy Trust, who will receive an OBE for services to education on Tuesday at Buckingham Palace.
“I saw how education changes people’s lives and I wanted to be part of that. I worked at Teesside University for four decades and supported lots of schools and colleges in the area.”
He said young people were the most important in the country and they could choose what they wanted to do with their lives.
“You should make your voices heard in the world,” he told the assembled students.
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