Just in: All Stroud High School students achieve five or more A* to C grades

A staggering 70 per cent of GCSE results were marked A* or A grades and 95 per cent of students gained an A* or A grade.

One of the standout performances was Ruby Ffrench, 16, from Stroud, whose family could not hold back the tears when she revealed she had scored 10 A*s and one A on Thursday.

"I am so shocked, I had absolutely no idea that I had done this well," said Ruby, who will now go on to study biology, chemistry, maths and English literature at Stroud High Sixth Form.

There was also jubilation for 16-year-old Anastasia Taylor, from Berkeley, who exceeded expectations by 15 grades with six A*s, three As and two Bs.

"I am so happy with my A*s in the sciences because I really want to be a vet so those subjects are important," said Anastasia, who will study chemistry, biology, maths and geography at Stroud High Sixth Form.

"I was hoping to do well but I never dreamt that I would do this well."

Joining her at sixth form to study Spanish, psychology, maths and physics is 16-year-old Zoe Phillips, from Nailsworth, who scored 10 A*s, one A and one B.

"I am very pleased but shocked at the same time," said Zoe. "For the last few weeks I have been trying not to think about it and I didn’t want to open the envelope today."

Equally as thrilled was Susannah Vance, 16, from Uplands, who received four A*s, five As, one B and one C.

"There was a lot of revision and hours spent in my bedroom," said Susannah, who has yet to decide where she is going to take her A-levels.

"GCSEs are very daunting because there so much pressure nowadays to do well."

Headteacher Tim Withers said: "There are many personal success stories to celebrate.

"This set of results is not only the result of a lot of hard work by our students, it is also a testament to the commitment and hard work of our teachers and of course that all important support from parents."