STUDENTS from schools across Colchester are looking forward to bright futures after securing some outstanding GCSE results.

More than 700,000 teenagers in the UK picked up their results yesterday under the new syllabus which was brought in in 2015.

Colchester County High School for Girls, which has repeatedly topped the national league exam table, had a record year, with students achieving the best results in the school’s history.

A total of 91.5 per cent of grades were at 7 or above and 99 per cent were above 6. An impressive 45.5 per cent were at grade 9 and 74 per cent were at 9 or 8.

Top achievers included Eve Coiley, who picked up ten 9s, Emma Whitehead, who achieved nine 9s as did Mia Urwin. Luna Abdulla and Anais Giles Scieller both received eight nine grades.

Executive principal Gillian Marshall said: “Last year, we celebrated the best results in the history of the school; this has yet again been repeated. We thank students, staff, governors and parents for all of the hard work and support on our journey.”

Colchester Royal Grammar School students also achieved the best results in the school’s history.

The percentage of grade 8s and 9s jumped a further five per cent after a ten per cent jump last year.

An impressive 62 per cent of grades were at 8 and 9 – the highest ever achieved at the school.

They included ten students who achieved 8 or more GCSEs at level 9.

Linda Exley, headteacher of The Gilberd, said staff were “extremely proud” of their pupils results.

Top achievers included Rebeka Bojboi and Emma Crossman who both picked up nine grade 9s and and an A.

Mrs Exley said: “As always, the raw figures hide many courageous individual stories, where students have struggled with adversity and yet still achieved, or who may not have gained headline grabbing results but have outperformed perhaps even their own expectations.”

At Philip Morant School more than half of students achieved strong passes in both English and Maths - a significant increase on 2018’s results.

Alex Skene-Shulde, 16, was rightly delighted after picking up seven top 9 grades, two 8s, a distinction * in Engineering and a A* with distinction in Further Maths.

The Colchester teenager is now going on to study Chemistry, Physics, Maths and Further Maths at Colchester Royal Grammar School.

He said: “I am happy with what I got although I could have done better in a couple of subjects.

“I’m not sure what I want to do after college at the moment, it is too early to say.”

Jasmine Ellis, 16, was another of the school’s top achievers, with six grade 9s, two 8s, one 7, a 5 and an A* in Further Maths.

She said: “It was a lot of work and it was really hard but I think it paid off in the end.“For the five weeks before the exams it was intense. I am relieved and excited it is over.”

More Philip Morant teenagers also picked up standard passes in English and Maths than in 2018.

Executive headteacher Scott Holder said: “I am especially pleased with this set of results as they reflect the improvements made across the school in terms of the curriculum, homework, facilities and opportunities as staff, parents, students and the Sigma Trust work collaboratively to give the best education to our pupils.”

Nationally teenagers achieved a slight pass rate increase as well as a small increase in the number of top grades.

At St Helena School students were also celebrating making strides in the right direction.

Top achievers included 16-year-old Emma Pugh, who has already set her sights on becoming a midwife. She picked up five 8s, four 7s and a six and will now be going to Colchester Sixth Form College to study Geography, Biology and French.

Emma, who lives in Colchester, said: “I feel relieved and I am very proud of myself. I got exactly what I wanted and I could not really have done any better. My mum has taken the day off work to be here with me and she is proud of me too.”

Headteacher Fiona Pierson praised the dedication of students in difficult circumstances, with new exams to contend with.

She said: “There has been a large amount of distance covered this year, now is the time to celebrate our efforts with our community and the improved outcomes we have achieved together.”

Stanway School headteacher Jonathan Bland said grades in English and Maths were the best in the school’s recent history.

He added: “Across the school, as well as the core subjects, strong results were obtained in Humanities, Languages and the Arts, exceeding our expectations.”

St Benedict’s Catholic College said many students had made excellent progress throughout the year singling out Jack Frampton, Joseph Guild, Jacob Hughes, Precious Okey, Jessica Stebbing and Darcie Wells.

Principal Jo Santinelli said, “In the face of a constantly changing educational landscape, our students have yet again demonstrated their resilience, hard work and positive attitudes, which have contributed to fantastic outcomes for so many.”

Colchester Academy said students had done particularly well in English Literature, Science, Modern Languages, History and Geography.

Principal Jenny Betts commented, “We are very proud of all of our students’ achievements and acknowledge all of their hard work and dedication.”

A spokesman for Thomas, Lord Audley School student Anna Denney received the highest grades at the school, with nine top grades including four grade 9s.

The school said results in English and Maths had improved and Science, History, Geography and German students maintained the high standard set last year.

Colchester High School said 75 per cent of exam grades were about level 5. Top achiever Jasmine Conley picked up 11 9 grades.

David Young, headteacher of Colchester High School, said, “It is a pleasure to celebrate with our staff and students who have worked so hard to achieve these results.

Miles Bacon, headteacher at Tiptree’s Thurstable School, said students had “risen to the challenge of the new exam system”.

Isabella Falltrick and Henry Gray were singled out for special praise as the school’s top achievers.