Eighty-six percent of the Year 11 group at King Edward VI School received at least five A* to C grades, up from the previous best of 80 percent in the last two years and way ahead of the national average — 65.7 percent.

There were many star students, with Eleanor Brunt and Sally Graham both obtaining all A* grades in nine subjects.

Head Teacher Simon Taylor said: "These are our best ever results and we are absolutely delighted, what a fantastic achievement by the students.

"I congratulate them on their success and the subject teachers and staff in the Year 11 department for guiding them so well through the year and their exams.

"We track our children very closely and we were always anticipating that this would be an outstanding year group, but they have delivered to meet and even surpass our expectations."

Sally, who lives at Hepscott, got her top results in Maths, Textiles, English Literature, English Language, French, Music, Double Science and Religious Education.

"When you take the exams and you can't think of anything you have done badly, you know you have done well but I never thought I would do this well," she said.

"It was a big surprise and I'm so pleased as it has made all the effort and revision worthwhile.

"It's also great to share my success with Eleanor as she is one of my best friends and I'm thrilled for her."

The 16-year-old will study AS Level Maths, Chemistry, French and English Literature at KEVI.

"I have chosen a mixture of subjects because there are many careers that sound really interesting and I want to keep my options open at this stage," Sally added.

The school also had impressive results in core subjects, with 75 percent getting five A*s to Cs including English and Maths, a six percent improvement on last year.

Of the total number of grades in individual subjects, 87 percent achieved a C or better in English, 78 percent likewise in Maths and 85 percent received an A* to C grade in at least one science subject, while 78 percent got the high pass result in Double Science.

"Added to the general success, across the foundation departments there were many brilliant performances, which is important as they can be left behind other subjects," Mr Taylor said.