CHILDREN at a special school have been celebrating the end of a successful first year.

Angelique Anderson, head of Ysgol Pen Coch in Flint, described their awards day as ‘the icing on the cake’ for the new school.

Staff at the school, which has 104 special needs pupils aged from two to 11, were asked to nominate students for a range of prizes but winners’ names were kept secret until the last minute.

Ms Anderson said: “It was a surprise for both children and their parents. They were thrilled, excited and shocked at how well they’d done.”

She singled out Casper Wojtowicz, who won an award for Welsh, for praise. Casper is Polish and his achievement is even more remarkable as English is not his first language.

She said: “Many of our students have made startling progress. It was tremendous for parents to see their children, including some with severe autism, doing so well.”