WOOLMER Hill School pupils are celebrating the best GCSE results the school has ever had in the 12 years since the exams have been in place.

Overall 64 per cent of the town's comprehensive school pupils gained five or more passes at grade C or above, across all subjects.

"These are brilliant results, they reflect the hard work that pupils and teachers put in and are a credit to them," said Alan Shean, who has retired from the school after nine years as head teacher.

Pupils at the school bucked the national trend with boys slightly outperforming girls.

"We expected to do well with a very good year group who lived up to their expectations. They have done exceptionally well right across the board," said a delighted Mr Shean as pupils arrived to open their results last Thursday.

Sarah Shepherd (16) couldn't believe it when she discovered that she had achieved A* in every one of her nine subjects. And to add to her joy, Sarah also received a mark for English literature that put her in the top five nationally of the 352,006 candidates who took the examination this summer.

Sarah, from Shillinglee, will be going to Farnham College next month to begin her A-level studies in biology, chemistry, mathematics, further mathematics and music.

Outstanding performances came from Henry Boyle from Fernden Lane, with 7 A* and 4A; Max Curzon-Hope from Chiddingfold with 8A*, 1A and 1B; Frances Haigh 6A*; Kamilla Klepacka 8A* and 2A; 4A. Richard Parker 7A* and 2A, and Lucie Smith 5A* and 3A.

Mr Shean said that all departments performed well with pleasing results. Pupils gaining grade C or above included art - 85 per cent; drama - 81 per cent; combined English language and literature - 80 per cent; history - 85 per cent; music - 75 per cent, geography - 86 per cent; mathematics - 62 per cent and science 64 per cent.

In addition to the high fliers, Mr Shean paid tribute to other GCSE achievers at the school.

"There are lower results that reflect tremendous achievements for pupils concerned and we are very proud of all of them. The learning support staff have worked wonders with pupils who have real challenges to face," said Mr Shean.

He added that all the results "are particularly pleasing for me as I retire from the school".

At Bohunt School in Liphook the results were even better with 70 per cent of pupils achieving Grade C or above.

A quarter of GCSE grades were at A or A* with 68 per cent of pupils achieving five or more more Grade C passes or above.

So good were the results that the school has found itself in the list of the top state schools in the country.

Headtacher Alan Taylor-Bennett said: "I am very pleased for the pupils - they deserve their successes."

Pupils with outstanding performances included Holly Standing with 10A* and 1A; Madelaine Breeze and Stephen Pettitt who each achieved 9A* and 2A and Samuel Jones 8A*,1A and 2B.

They also all achieved A* grades in a short-course GCSE in religious studies, along with well over half the entire year group who sat the exam and passed with A* or A grades.

Private schools in Haslemere and the surrounding area were also delighted with their GCSE results.

Girls from The Royal School achieved all-time record results with 97 per cent of its pupils gaining A* to C grades.

Headteacher Lynne Taylor-Gooby said: "We are a mixed-ability school and these results are a real credit to the girls and their teachers."

At King Edward's School in Witley, GCSE results produced encouraging results with many pupils doing even better than they expected.

The school was delighted that 88 per cent of the year group achieved grades at A* to C with 32 per cent achieving grades at A* or A.

Results also proved encouraging for those involved in the first year of the new AS level exams with nearly 95 per cent pass rate. Virtually all pupils took three modules in four or five subjects and the proportion of A and B grades was 42 per cent.

Year 11 pupils at Wispers School for Girls are celebrating their results, with an increased number of A* and A grades.

"The overall 89 per cent pass rate for girls scoring five or more GCSE passes at grades A* to C is a tribute to hard work on the part of the candidates and the teaching staff" said Henry Beltran, headmaster. "A number of this year's candidates are staying at Wispers for sixth form so we are expecting a sparkling set of A-level results and university entrances two years from now."