STUDENTS in Farnham are celebrating record A-level passes, revealing results well above the national average.

Though the nerves may have been jangling on opening the brown envelopes a week yesterday, it was all smiles for the majority of teens who exceeded their expectations.

Headteachers swiftly dismissed critics who have labelled the exams as being too easy, believing students had responded positively to ever- increasing pressure.

Topping the list was Frensham Heights, whose students scored its best ever results of 100 percent pass rate, (against a national average of 94 per cent) with 38 percent gaining grades A and B.

Just one percent below them in overall passes, and scoring 30 percent A grades were All Hallows, whose headteacher Elizabeth Lutzeier praised everyone for their hard work.

Farnham College recorded a 97 percent pass rate, improving on its performance from the previous year to the delight of its principal, Sally Francis.

Explaining it had been a 'bumper year', she said 52 percent of its grades were at A to B, and its top 100 students achieved the equivalent of three As - which placed it in the top 20 colleges in England.

Several students received special praise. Sarah Shepherd, formerly of Woolmer Hill School, achieved four top marks in biology, maths, further maths and music.

Remarkably, she gained the fifth highest result in the country for maths, and has been accepted by Oxford University.

Rachel Lloyd, formerly of Weydon School, will study history at Oxford having gained 595 out of 600 marks in history, which placed her second of the 11,579 candidates.

Fellow successes from Weydon also include Christopher Lillywhite, who will also study history at St John's College Oxford; and Graham Ross, who is set to study music at Cambridge.

Ms Francis commented: "Our policy is to encourage and support all students to the successful completion of their course and these excellent results are an endorsement of this policy.

"The grade profile, with so many students gaining high grades, is exceptional.

"Not only are our results outstanding, we add real value to our students' successes and I am particularly pleased that so many have achieved more than they thought possible.

"It is a tribute to the students' hard work and the excellent teaching which they have experienced at the college."