South Glos students' A Level success

Tears and hugs in the rain marked a historic moment in Winterbourne as the last set of A-level results were collected by students at the Ridings High School.

The school, along with King Edmund Community School in Yate, is closing. Both will reopen as academies.

At The Ridings, some of the upper sixth form leavers' colleagues had already received their own set of exam results last month. They were among the growing proportion of students there who now sit the International Baccalaureate (IB), where students continue to take a wider range of subjects after their GCSEs.

Yesterday, however, was all about A-levels as students nervously arrived at the schools to collect envelopes, the contents of which could affect the rest of their lives.

Life for Ratidzo Parirenyatwa, 19, was very different when she was growing up in her native Zimbabwe. Since moving to Bradley Stoke three years ago, she has adapted quickly to the English way of life and after achieving straight As at A-level she plans to spend next year volunteering in the UK before taking up her place at Newcastle University to read medicine.

She said: "I'm so happy with these results. I have wanted to be a doctor ever since I was about 11 and now my dream is that much closer."

Her friend Niranjani Prasad went one better than Ratidzo and got five As. She will be one of the very few girls next year studying engineering at Cambridge University.

Niranjani, 18, of Stoke Gifford, said: "I'm very happy. I worked really hard for this and now I'm really looking forward to going to university."

Majid Al-Khalil, who will be reading physics at Imperial College, London and Samantha Fairfield, who will be reading medicine at Southampton University, also both got five As. Three other students achieved four As: Rati Parirenyatwa, Gareth Startin and Zac Zurybida.

Acting head teacher Rob Evans said: "The school's achievement in providing students with access to high quality undergraduate courses at prestigious universities through A-levels and the IB is unique in the area. There have been notable performances at A-level and IB, and this reflects the hard work of all students, the support of the parents and the excellent teaching at the school."

King Edmund School also bowed out with record results, including a 100 per cent pass rate and 31.6 per cent of students gaining all A or B grades.

Standards at A-level rise to record levels as the last results for A and AS-level results are published for King Edmund Community School, prior to becoming an academy.

Top student was Michael Wallis who gained two As and a B, being closely followed by Martin Turner and Scott Campbell. The best female performance came from Fran Andrews.

Head teacher Roger Gilbert, who is also principal designate of the new Yate International Academy, said: "These results for these students are very pleasing indeed. I am exceptionally proud of their achievements. This is hugely encouraging as we move into our new-found status alongside our partner academy, Winterbourne International Academy."

Brimsham Green Community School in Yate also saw improved results, to the delight of head teacher Alun Williams, who has just completed his first year in charge.

Thirty-eight per cent of students achieved all As and Bs and the average point score was up from 185 to 200.

"These are very pleasing results," said Mr Williams.

The Castle School in Thornbury is celebrating its highest ever A-level results, with a pass rate of 99.7 per cent and 62.3 per cent achieving A or B grades. Twenty students achieved at least 3 As and two got five As.

Head teacher Melanie Warnes said: "We are really thrilled with the school's best ever A-level results.

"These results say so much about the commitment and hard work of students and staff and of our very supportive parents. Our students have very bright futures."