BEFORE it was the Academy we all know and love, it was Thorncliffe School and it said farewell with a day of celebration.

The secondary school in Thorncliffe Road, Barrow, achieved the best GCSE results in its history on its last ever results day. The record-breaking final year Year 11 group celebrated a haul of top grades on August 27. Thorncliffe - which officially closed on the Monday of that week to come Furness Academy - saw 52 percent of its students achieve five or more A* to C grades at GCSE or equivalent. This was up six per cent from 2008. There was also an 11 percent improvement in the performance of students achieving the five higher grades in subjects including English and Maths. Some 39 percent of students achieved this benchmark standard.

The top academic performer was Karl Durkin, 16, of Barrow, who achieved seven A* and two A's.

Kar, who is heading to Barrow Sixth Form College, said: "I feel over the moon and relieved. It's a brilliant ending for Thorncliffe, I've really enjoyed my time here. It makes you think, does anything need to change if it is on its way up?"