BALLOONS were released on Friday as part of a farewell to a school Year 11 group and the school itself.

Parents, staff past and present and members of the community all paid tribute to Fort Hill Community School at a special event and celebrated the achievements of the last Year 11 group.

Fort Hill School closed last summer, amalgamating with its partner, Cranbourne Business and Enterprise College.

Hampshire County Council made the Fort Hill site available for the year, so that its Year 11 students could be educated as a year group of 96, close to home during their GCSE year.

Toby Sim, Fort Hill site manager, said: “This year group has excellent attendance; the students wanted to come in to school and we are expecting to have record breaking GCSE results.”

The event was tinged with sadness as it also marked the last assembly ever to be held at Fort Hill, so there was a focus on the past, as well as the year just gone.

The event concluded with the release of multi-coloured balloons, symbolising the students moving from their school on to new challenges.

Maria Miller, Basingstoke's MP, said: “It was a pleasure to join the Fort Hill class of 2018, marking the end of their time at school. The students and staff have risen to the challenges of this being the last year at the site, and I was pleased to hear that the students are predicted to achieve some of the highest academic results in Fort Hill’s history. I wish all the students the very best for the future.”