We've had another successful year at Crossley Heath – as most of you have seen or heard from my letters, termly newsletter, articles, photographs, published results, our newly designed website, media reports, the school Profile and in tonight's programme. At the end of it came another very good set of A level, GSCE and SAT's results, the dependably high level of achievement that students and parents alike rely on us to deliver. By the end of results day this summer the majority of our A Level candidates had places confirmed at their first choice institutions. A very good year.

The school has moved forward in many respects during the past 12 months and, as well as having address the issues raised by Ofsted in the last inspections, the following examples will, I hope, give you a flavour of the progress that is being made.

•  Our curriculum has been further enhanced and we are allowing students to develop important skills at their own pace with fewer artificial restrictions imposed by traditional time scales and course content. If it is right for them to do so, students will be able to take exams early in some subjects and move on to higher levels of learning. For the first time, in 2006/7, all but 4 Year 10 students achieved a full course GSCE in ICT and Drama was offered as an after school GSCE course. All Year 10 students achieved a full GSCE in Science and in this examination 3 of the 5 highest marks nationally were achieved by Crossley Heath Students.

•  We have continued to create enhanced leadership opportunities for students, promoting responsibility, enabling them to become more self-reliant and resourceful and helping them to develop an even greater sense of service to the community. Since the beginning of term, over 50 Post 16 students have been trained in Peer Coaching and are currently supporting younger students. Prefects, buddies, team captains, house captains, junior sports coaches, charity committee representatives, student ambassadors are just some of the roles our students undertake, all enabling them to develop their leadership skills and make a real contribution to decision making and to the smooth running of the school.

•  We are broadening the range of opportunities for parents to engage with the School and their child's learning. This year will be the first when parents of students in most year groups will have had an opportunity to meet with Form Tutors (on the Form Tutor Review day, which was an addition to the usual parents evenings) to discuss their child's progress. Two extra information evenings were provided for parents of students in the current Year 8 to keep them informed and to discus the implications of the new curriculum for their child.

•  Our Virtual Learning Environment is constantly being developed. Teaching staff in all departments have invested many hours on work creating and resourcing their subject VLE's. This now allows students remote access to information, resources and guidance, giving them more control over their own learning as they now have access to these areas and to their work from the home environment.

•  The number of schools and other organisations with whom we collaborate is ever increasing, the aim being to further raise achievements and broaden the range of opportunities for staff and students (in our own school and others). In addition to extending the number of school we are partnered with through language college links, we have forged mutually collaborative links with several local primary schools.

•  The number and range of extra curricular activities has continued to increase. A lunchtime photography club, annual maths challenges, student enterprise competitions and various additional sporting activities have been some of the ways in which the out of hours provisions for students has recently been enhanced.

•  Day-to-day standards of uniform have improved. Our Year 11 students now have their own, unique tie, which was designed by a student. The pride with which they now wear the school uniform is partly attributable to this small but significant change, which is really a symbol of the importance we place on the Student Voice.

•  In August we received the International Schools Award in recognition of overall provision and the numerous international partnerships and links we have developed. The opportunities provided to students and staff to visit places as far afield as China, New Zealand and Canada, as well as many European countries, has enriched the range of opportunities and experiences for the whole school community and has increased global and cultural awareness.

•  We received the Healthy Schools Wards last term. We have made healthy lifestyle a key focus area at Crossley Heath because we know that children who are fit and alert generally achieve better and concentrate for longer. Our Student Council bring suggestions to the catering manager, who is always willing to try to further enhance the range of healthy eating options on offer. All students take part in a range of activities and sport, which enables them to keep fit and the PSHCE curriculum, experienced by all students, helps them learn how to develop their emotional intelligence.

•  This summer we received confirmation of second phase funding (for a further four years) as a specialist language college and the Specialist School Trust invited Crossley Heath to join an elite group of schools by awarding us the status of High Performing Specialist School. This is an accolade that has only been awarded to 14% of all specialist schools and is in recognition of success in the specialist subjects, standards and achievements across the school and an overall excellent Ofsted report. We have been invited to take on a second specialism, not in a particular curriculum area but by focusing on Leadership Development. We will be given the opportunity to work with other schools, the National College of School Leadership and the Youth Sports Trust, to further develop leadership skills for both staff and students. The underlying attention being to build our capacity to raise levels of achievement even higher.

•  Personal and individual support and guidance for students is a strong feature at Crossley Heath, but we have continued to develop this provision. We now have three student learning mentors, one who has been appointed recently to provide additional support for Post 16 students in particular.

They say that the beauty of life does not depend on how happy we are but on how happy others are because of us. So, is the real answer to finding happiness to think outside of ourselves and to serve others? We are, at our core, relational beings. This is why solitary confinement Is thought as one of the worst possible scenarios we could find ourselves in. But when we stop thinking about our own wants and desires and start helping others with their needs, amazing things happen. We are forced to stop focusing on ourselves and we become thankful because we realise how much we have. We experience the true love of giving without receiving and ultimately we develop a deep connection with the human condition. All of us, whatever our profession, can find ways of serving others and I am very proud that Crossley Heath School nurtures this quality in our students. In the past year, our students – your children – have raised almost £20,000 in support of many charities, including Children in Need, UNICEF, the NSPCC, The Laura Crane Trust, Jeans for Genes, Christian Aid, Kidney Research, the Tsunami Appeal, Christmas Child and the Shoebox appeal. Well done to all of them for their efforts on behalf of these causes.

Moving to our plans for the future. Feedback from students, staff and parents is largely positive. It does, however, tell us that the major priority for development (in their view) is school facilities. In particular they confirm what we already know, i.e. that we need better sports facilities and improved Post 16 study areas.

Enhancement of the physical environment is something that remains high on the list of the governing body's priorities. You will have noticed that the existing accommodation is very well maintained. The languages wing was enhanced by the addition of two classrooms in 2003 and investment was made to improve the accommodation for Technology subjects in 2005. Any building development on the Crossley Heath site is, of course, very expensive because we are housed in a Grade II listing building and we are in the middle of a conservation area.

Governors have extensive plans for the School, the starting point being the development of a sports hall, a separate building on the school site. Once a sports hall has been built, it would free up other areas in school and it would then be possible to improve Post 16 accommodation, to provide better study areas for all students, improve dining facilities and make provision for drama and other such activities.

There is, however, a catch. A sports hall will cost approximately £2.3 million. There is no external funding available to the School (and I can assure you we have explored every avenue). Not to be thwarted, the governing body has embarked upon a major project to raise at least £750,000, which will be quite a challenge. The rest of the money is to be raised by a combination of prudential borrowing and investment of the school's dedicated capital grant.

We are holding a series of information evenings for parents and other interested parties. We have already held 8 so far this term and there will be a further 4 events in the new year. Contributions have started to come in, but we need all members of the school community to support us in any way they can, either through direct donations or by providing support in other ways. Planning permission has already been granted and, if we are successful in raising the necessary funds, we intend to have a sports hall on site within two years. Please contact us if you would like further information and/or you would like to support the school.

Prize Giving is a change to look back and reflect on the successes of the previous year. However, if we think solely of it in terms of examination success and the events that have taken place, we are somewhat missing the point. Prize Giving is about individuals. Every person receiving a prize tonight should rightly be proud of their achievements. They know that their success required discipline, effort, commitment and the courage to succeed. They are not here tonight because they never made mistakes. They are here because they learned to appreciate that it's ok to make mistakes – as long as you learn from them and don't keep repeating the same ones.

As well as the prize winner, I would like to acknowledge and pay tribute to all of the Crossley Heath students who are not here but who worked hard, make valuable contributions to the school and whose perseverance and commitment are characteristics typified by our students. Although I have been Head for over 6 years, I do not take for granted the team spirit and the mutual support exemplified by our students and I observe this on a daily basis. It is part of what makes Crossley Heath a very special place.

•  I feel privileged when I observe teams of students motivating and supporting one another in sporting events, which is of course very challenging when you are playing at the very highest level and against equally strong teams.

•  I have been moved by the way they help and support one another through personal crises, and

•  I have felt a great sense of pride when I have been in the audience at the end of some extremely competitive House events as they take the time to share their success and defeat and to console or congratulate one another.

When I took Ruth (my daughter) to university 3 years ago and watched her and other students arrive in a new place for the first time, accompanied by friends and parents, ready to embark on university course, it reminded me of what a huge step that is for 18/19 year olds. Parents help ferry processions from car to student residence while students nervously face up to the reality of a new life, with total strangers, in an unfamiliar place!

It is an experience not often repeated in life and I am confident that the education provided at Crossley Heath helps to prepare our students for the challenge.

So to those among you who have recently left the school, I congratulate you on the achievements that brought you here tonight, I thank you for your service to the school and all that you contributed to Crossley Heath and I wish you well for the challenges you will undoubtedly face in the future. When I have talked about you, I have described you as bubbly, intelligent, kind and friendly; welcoming, caring, generous and conscientious; charming, reasonable, diverse, spirited and occasionally argumentative.

Perhaps, in anticipation of the refreshment to follow, you will forgive me for describing you are a delightful, sustaining and endlessly effervescent cocktail. Our good wishes go with you and, because so often, the friendships formed at Crossley Heath are sustained for many years, I hope you will continue to consider us your friends and come back and visit us as you progress through life.

In drawing to a close I would like to extend my sincere thanks and appreciation to my colleagues on the staff at Crossley Heath, both teaching and support staff. It is a privilege to work with such a dedicated and professional team and we are a very strong team. A team in which everyone has an equal part to play and everyone's contribution is equally valuable in providing a rewarding, rich, enjoyable and safe learning experience for our children.

In the pioneering days of space research, President John Kennedy was visiting NASA at Cape Canaveral. He had met many great scientists and researchers. He had met the men whose great ambition was to conquer space and to walk on the surface of the moon. He had met administrators and accountants and many others whose contribution to the project was immense. Men and women who had a sense of destiny, purpose and pride. Walking through the corridors on his way back to his limousine he came across a stooped, grey-haired man with a bucket in one hand and a mop in the other. It seemed quite a redundant question, but the President asked him politely, “And what do you do here ate the Cape?”

Straightening his back, the cleaner looked at the President in the eyes and, with a strong sense of pride and dignity in his voice replied: “Sir, I'm doing the same as everyone else. I'm working here to put a man on the moon. That's exactly what I'm doing here.”

Finally, I would like to record my gratitude to the Governors of the School who give so freely and generously of their time to support us. Such ongoing support and counsel is invaluable to the School and we are fortunate to have such wise and willing friends.