SHEBBEAR College’s Year 11s are the first group to have taken the new GCSEs in English language, English literature and maths, and a record number of UK pupils have achieved five passes including maths and English Language (a Grade 4 would have achieved a C last year).

The new top grade at GCSE is a score of 9 and this was achieved in each of the new exams.

Antonia Aliberti now proudly possesses the school’s best ever set of GCSE results including the equivalent of 13 A*s and a 9 in maths. Other superb performances came from Tara Twomey with seven A*s and five As, and Alex Yiu with eight A*s. Alex achieved an A* in Computer Science in the first year that the school has offered the subject at GCSE.

Headmaster Simon Weale said: “Our pupils cannot be compared against their predecessors because these new exams are fundamentally more testing. I am delighted that they have collectively risen to the challenge. GCSEs seem to induce the highest stress levels and the process helps everyone to find out about themselves and learn lessons for the future. These pupils are now well set to perform well at A Level and Btec.”