On Thursday 16th December, students from our Year 11 cohort of 2017, parents, governors and staff packed into the main hall to enjoy a night of celebration at Tytherington School’s annual Year 11 Awards Evening.

Following thought provoking speeches from our Headteacher Mr Botwe, Mr Pepper, Head of Year 11, and our Chair of Governors, Mrs Jane Stephens, students were cheered as they received their examination certificates, before pastoral and academic awards were given out to recognise individual achievement. The winners of these awards were:

Three additional awards were also celebrated on the evening, including the “Wendy Pennington Prize for English”, the “Guy Wharton Award for Endeavour”, and our “Headteacher’s Award”.

The Wendy Pennington Prize for English is presented in memory of Mrs Pennington who was Head of English at Tytherington School and a champion of the subject of English. The winner of this year’s award was Thomas Peacock who also received a cheque for £100 alongside his trophy. Tom would have been a worthy winner of this award within any of his subjects, however, achieving a grade 7 in English Language and a grade 6 in English Literature when he was predicted grade 4s was a remarkable achievement.

Tom is an example to us all of what can be achieved through hard work and 100% commitment. Things were easy for Tom and at times he may have felt like giving up, but he didn’t. He utilised the support on offer and demonstrated a resilience that ensured his success. We are extremely grateful for the Pennington family for their generous donations to the school.

The “Guy Wharton Award for Endeavour”, has been named in memory of Mr Guy Wharton who tragically passed away two years ago. Guy was a much loved and very well respected member of staff at Tytherington School and it was in some way comforting that we preserved the memory of such a talented and inspirational teacher during an event like this.

The winner of the Wharton award was Kelsey Watson. Throughout her early years at Tytherington, Kelsey had to deal with several barriers to achievement, which she overcame with flying colours. At the beginning of Yr10 many would have said achieving Bs and Cs in all eight of her GCSE’s was almost impossible, however, she did exactly that. A remarkable example of endeavour from a very deserving winner.

The “Headteachers Award” was presented to Amber Simpson. Amber encompasses all of the qualities we expect from a Tytherington student. Ambitious, resilient and hardworking, she achieved a truly incredible set of results last year. Three grade 9s and 7 and a half A*s.

Alongside her studies Amber was involved in a number of extra-curricular sports team throughout her time at the school and volunteered for countless whole school, sports leadership and transition events. A sometimes quiet and reserved individual she demonstrated an internal motivation to succeed that was unsurpassed by many. A* results by an all-round A* student.

A fantastic evening that was enjoyed by all. We would like to thank all that attended and look forward to the future achievements of our students from the “Class of 2017”.

1) Kelsey Watson received the Guy Wharton Award for Endeavour.

2) Tom Peacock receives the Wendy Pennington Prize.

3) Group shot – Maya Dagdelen, Kaia Thompson, Amber Simpson and Natalya Corn.