PEWSEY Vale School was filled with choruses of congratulations as students picked up their GCSE results today.

The teenagers and staff are celebrating another year of great results with all the students achieving GCSE passes and 97 per cent gaining at least five GCSE passes.

The school is also delighted that the number of students achieving five A*-C grades, including English and maths, rose by five percent from last year to around 49 per cent.

One of the anxious and excited students queuing in the library to pick-up her results at 10am was Eleanor Taylor. But the 16-year-old had nothing to worry about as she got some of the best results at the school.

Including the grades from the GCSEs she took last year, Eleanor got two A*s in history and religious education and six As, three Bs and a C. She plans to go to St John’s Academy in Marlborough to study A-Levels in chemistry, biology, history and environmental studies.

For Alice Howe, from Wexcombe, achieving an A in her maths exam is something she didn’t expect, so she was thrilled to see she had got that grade as she sat the exam while suffering from gastritis.

She also got As in drama and biology and plans to go to St John’s and study A-Levels in biology, health and social care, drama and psychology.

“I was really worried,” she said “And panicking and scared I wasn’t going to get into college and when I saw them [the results] I was over the moon and very happy.”

There were also tears of joy for Katie Wakeham, who is 16 and lives in Upavon, as she opened her results. Her grades include an A in drama and two Bs in history and P.E. She and fellow student Niall Bennett, from Burbage, will be going to study performing arts at the Salisbury Playhouse.

Ryan Granger is another of the school’s high fliers and including his GCSE results from last year, which he took early, he got two A*s, three As and four Bs.

He is going to New College in Swindon to study A-Levels in maths, further maths and physics. “I’m relieved it’s all over,” he said after a nervous wait to see his results this morning.

Abi Burnett, who lives in Woodborough, got an A* in biology and three As in maths, chemistry and physics. She is now off to New College in Swindon. “I’m very happy, it was a lot of revision that has paid off,” she said.

Headteacher Carol Grant added: “I am very proud of the achievements of our students and staff. Despite the bar being raised again this year, they have met the challenge and their hard work and commitment has paid off with excellent results. I am keen to follow their progress as they leave us and embrace the opportunities that lie ahead. I would like to take this opportunity to thank our parents for their invaluable support as we look forward to even greater success in 2016.

“Particular congratulations go to our top students Eleanor Taylor and Ryan Granger. The following students are commended for the outstanding progress they have made during their time at Pewsey Vale; Ellie Keeler, Ben McCormick, Tom Lindeman, Claire Hussey and Regan Cain. These students worked very hard and achieved excellent GCSE grades as a result – well done.”