Rishi Sunak celebrated outstanding results with pupils at Stokesley School at its annual presentation evening.
Mr Sunak presented students with a range of special awards and expressed his pride in one of the best schools in his constituency.
This year the school secured a place in the top 100 non-selective state schools nationally after recording outstanding A-level and GCSE results..
There were prizes awarded for a range of achievements including exceptional work in individual subjects, overcoming a challenge, triumph over adversity, creativity and services to the community.
This year’s GCSE and A-level results were well above the national average with 83% of all GCSE grades at A*-C. At A-level, students achieved a 100% pass rate with 43% of all grades at A*or A and 66% A* to B grades.
In their GCSE results, 76% of Stokesley students achieved at least 5 A*-C grades including English and Maths, 34 with eight or more A and A* grades and 11 achieving eight or more A* grades. This was well above the national average which saw a 2% fall in overall grades.
Mr Sunak praised the hard work of students and staff and the support provided by parents and governors.
In his speech, he encouraged students to be inspired by the likes of Apple, Google and Facebook’s founders and be creative when considering their future careers.
He said: “It’s one of the most incredible testaments to what happens when young people trust their creativity. Not one of these high-profile business people could have done what they did without a good education, but that education couldn’t take them the whole way.
"To achieve what they did meant having the self-belief to challenge convention and believe in their ideas. The ideas in our young people’s minds are probably the most precious resource this country has.”
The headteacher, Catherine Brooker, said: “It was a pleasure to celebrate the achievements, talents and contribution of our students and we were delighted Mr Sunak could spare the time to come to our school.
"When so many achieve at the highest level, the prize winners are truly exceptional, not only academically but in their attitude to learning and support of each other and the community.
“We are very proud of all these young people who have such a brilliant future ahead of them. Many of our A-level students have taken up places at university this autumn, in courses ranging from land management and medicine to engineering and English literature, while following on from our exceptional A level results, the majority of our Year 11 GCSE students will be returning to study in our sixth form – with 43% of all A Level grades at A*-A.
“So many of our students produced glittering performances and we wish them all well as they embark on their higher education courses.”