TWO Farnham schools have recorded their best-ever GCSE results.

Weydon School and All Hallows Catholic School saw 73 per cent and 70 per cent of their pupils respectively get five or more A* to C grades.

Heath End School recorded a figure of 58 per cent.

Top of the class, though, was Frensham Heights School. Ninety-eight per cent of pupils at the private school achieved five or more A* to C grades, one of its highest pass rates.

The national average was 59.2 per cent as pass rates rose for the 16th year in the GCSE's 17-year history.

Weydon School's benchmark five A*-Cs figure was up eight per cent on last year's figure.

Star performers, with 10 or more A* to Cs, were James Tonkin, Chris Boddington, Jenny Coombes, Myles Brock, Ellie Trezise, Jacob Craigie, Vicky Burke and Katie Jacobs.

Mark Tredwin, assistant headteacher at Weydon, said: "We're absolutely thrilled. They're our best ever grades. The pupils have excelled themselves."

Asked if he thought GCSEs are getting easier, Mr Tredwin said: "The students who have worked very hard would say 'of course not'."

Nationally, boys are still lagging behind girls, but at Weydon the gap is closing.

Last year 60 per cent of boys and 70 per cent of girls achieved five or more A* to Cs. The figures this year were 69 per cent and 77 per cent respectively.

All Hallows Catholic School in Weybourne saw the number of pupils getting five or more A* to Cs rise from 65 per cent to 70 per cent.

Eighteen pupils got eight or more A*s or As.

One of the most notable performers was Amit Shrestha, a refugee from Nepal who only arrived in England two years ago and could hardly speak any English. Amit got five A* to Cs and headteacher Elizabeth Lutzeier said she is proud of him.

Alice Overd attained seven A*s and one A grade.

Mrs Lutzeier attributed her pupils' achievements to their hard work and that of their teachers.

Each pupil is given a target based on the results of their Key Stage 3 tests, taken in year nine. Mrs Lutzeier herself met regularly with 32 pupils who were at risk of underachieving.

She believes the improvement in their attainment had a knock-on effect throughout the school.

Mrs Lutzeier said All Hallows is working with Weydon, Heath End and Ash Manor schools, together with Farnham College and Waverley Training Services, to establish apprenticeships for less academic pupils.

David Hoggins, headteacher at Heath End, said he was pleased with his pupils' results.

Fifty-eight per cent of his pupils attained five or more A* to C grades, one per cent less than the school's target. Last year's figure was 47 per cent.

Although the Heath End figure is significantly lower than the other two Farnham secondary schools', and is 1.2 per cent lower than the national average, Mr Hoggins' pupils come from a different socio-economic background.

Among Heath End's top performers were Hilary Brewer, who attained 10 A*s and three As, and head girl Abigail Colley, who got eight A*s and five As.

"We're very pleased because we hit our target," said Mr Hoggins. "I would ask 'are our children achieving their potential?' 'Yes'. 'Would I send my kids here?' 'Yes'."

Frensham Heights School achieved the best results, though, with 98 per cent of its pupils getting five or more A* to C grades, with an increase in A*s and As.

Headteacher Andrew Fisher said: "I congratulate the students for these wonderful results, they have achieved above expectation and surpassed the results achieved by previous years.

"I am particularly pleased for those top students who have achieved 10 As and A* grades. This is an outstanding achievement."