HEADTEACHER Tim Withers is leaving on a high after a staggering 99 per cent of pupils celebrated A-level passes on Thursday.

Mr Withers, who has been at the helm of Stroud High School for five years, is moving on to Ralph Allen School in Bath next month.

"I am delighted that my time as headteacher is ending on a very high note with many of our students achieving the grades needed to access first choice universities," he said.

"As I move on in September I will continue to watch out with great interest for the results of future A-level cohorts and I am sure the new headteacher will support the school in moving from strength to strength."

This year, nearly three-quarters of students achieved A* to B grades and six girls are off to Oxford University or Cambridge University.

Among the students celebrating top marks was 18-year-old Imogen Brown, from Eastcombe, who if off to read history the University of Liverpool next month after earning an A* in politics and As in English literature and history.

"I locked myself in my room and worked so hard," she said.

"I really pushed myself to do better than expected so I so happy with my results."

Hard work also paid off for 18-year-old Alice Boniface, from Stroud, who achieved As in history and politics and a B in psychology.

"I was feeling ok until a week ago when it hit me that this is going to have a big impact on my life," said Alice, who is taking a year out before studying history and politics at Newcastle University.

Equally as thrilled was Charlotte Pontac, 18, from Stroud, whose A* in religious education, A in psychology and B in politics secured her a place to study criminology at the University of Manchester.

"The revision was tough but it paid off," she said.

"Although I am excited to go off to university, I am really going to miss Stroud High because it has been my whole life for so many years."