COLLEGES and schools across Alton continued their run of educational excellence this week as they recorded outstanding results in the GCSE examinations.

Following on from the previous week's A level success, Lord Wandsworth College celebrated another results victory with 98 per cent of all the GCSE examinations being marked with grades C or above.

The staff were said to be pleased with their results, none more so than those in the art department, who were "thrilled" to learn that 39 out of the 44 candidates achieved an A* or A grade.

Eggar's enjoyed a near-faultless pass-rate, with 100 per cent of the year group achieving five or more grades from A* to G.

Of the 147 pupils in year 11, 73 per cent gained five or more passes in the A*-C range, while 20 per cent of passes were at A or A*.

Outstanding performances came from David McGowan, who gained 10A*s and one A, Iona Easthope, who achieved eight A*s and two As, and Emma Grimes, who came through with seven A*s and four As.

While English and mathematics received good overall results, with 76 per cent and 71 per cent of students respectively gaining high grades, it was the arts (including music, drama and art) that came out on top. Of the pupils who studied the subjects, 93 per cent achieved high grades.

Science enjoyed 70 per cent of its pupils coming away with high grades, with 100 per cent of those taking the triple award gaining a top result.

Eggar's headteacher Felicity Martin said: "We are thrilled with our results this year. These represent a great deal of hard work from the students, support from the parents and outstanding commitment and dedication from our teachers.

"These GCSE results and our recent excellent Ofsted report which will be circulated early in the autumn term, reflect the high standards of education provided at Eggar's.

"We are looking forward to seeing our school go from strength to strength."

Mrs Margaret Crowe, chairman of governors, expressed her delight with the results. "This has been an extraordinarily successful year for our school.

"We have achieved the Specialist School Status for Science, a marvellous Ofsted report and now best ever GCSE results, way above national averages.

"These are well deserved rewards for staff and pupils at the school."

Alton Convent School was also among the high-achievers. The school came away with an overall pass-rate of 99.6 per cent at grades A-C. The average number of subjects passed by each student was 10, meaning that 100 per cent of students gained the national standard of five GCSEs graded A-C.

Subjects including art and design, German, biology and Latin had a 100 per cent success rate.

More than 54 per cent of passes were at grades A* and A, while 88 per cent were at A and B.

Star-pupils included Sophie Bailey, Caitlin Collins, Sorrel Wood, Ailsa Bulloch, Rebecca Ford, Isabelle Masser and Sarah Amey, who collectively achieved 31 A*s and 34 grades.

Sue Kirkham, headteacher at Alton Convent, said: "I'm so delighted with these truly exceptional results in all our subjects.

"Our GCSE students have followed in the footsteps of last week's A-level results to make this an outstanding year.

"Students, teachers and parents can rightly congratulate themselves on a splendid year's achievement."

For the second year running, well over 70 per cent of year 11 students at Amery Hill achieved five or more GCSE passes, with 19 per cent of all entries being awarded grades A*, A or B.

Remarkable individual performances came from Ellen Chapman, who achieved eight A*s and two As, Edward Peace, who gained eight A*s and two As, and Katherine Herbert, who came away with four A*s and seven As.

Ellen Chapman did particularly well in maths. Out of more than 125,000 candidates sitting the GCSE exam this year, her marks were good enough to put her among the top five students.

"These results reflect a great deal of hard work by the students and the staff and the parents who supported them," said deputy head Tim Griffiths. "Our GCSE results have improved markedly in recent years and I was delighted that overall we were able to exceed the 70 per cent barrier once again.

"Congratulations are due to all our pupils."

The school's headteacher, Stephen Crabtree, said: "The future looks very bright for Amery Hill.

"Our three-million-pound building programme has progressed well over the summer, and we became a specialist school in September, which will mean further investment, and these results are the icing on the cake.

"We are not complacent though. I believe our results will approach 80 per cent in 2005."