MOTORWAY chaos hit Rawthorpe High School's presentation night when the guest speaker, BBC's Harry Gration, got held up in nightmare traffic on the M62.
Students had returned to Rawthorpe to celebrate GCSE successes that led to the school being nominated as the most improved in Kirklees.
They were joined by their parents, local authority representatives, governors and sponsors.
By 7.30pm the hall was full but there was still no sign of Look North's popular presenter.
Organiser Lynne Copley said: "I received a message to say that there were severe hold-ups on the motorway and that Harry was likely to be delayed. We had no option but to start."
The audience was entertained by musical items from the school's steel bands and choirs followed by an address from headteacher Joan Young, who praised the hard work and dedication of students and their teachers.
"Just as I finally decided that our guest speaker was not going to make it, Harry walked through the door - to thunderous applause," said Mrs Copley.
She added: "Everyone really appreciated the effort he had made to be with us."
After congratulating students on their results and presenting individual awards, the celebrity guest mingled with the audience, talking to students about their plans for the future and signing autographs.
Individual award winners: Outstanding Academic achievement - Nagina Aziz; Exceptional effort - Ghazaleh Ezzati; English - Cheryl Gooding; Maths - Chris Moore; Science - Michael Grange; MFL - Heather Walker; Humanities - Heshow Jamal; Art - Dionne Hanson; Drama - Ena Basic; Chadwick Lawrence Award for Music - Kaisha Whitley; PE - Michael Morris; The Dougal Anderson - Stephanie Wilson; Memorial Award for Technology ICT - Amir Jamal; Business Studies- Hayley Barnett