MORE than a quarter of GCSE students at Wellington School got nine or more at A*/As.

School figures also show that 47% of marks were at A* or A grade.

Headmaster Martin Reader said: “Sometimes pundits are quick to criticise the standards of GCSE. Yet much of the difficulty arises from students having to juggle a large number of different subjects. To achieve such breadth of success is praiseworthy indeed.

“We must not forget all the other contributions these particular students have made to school life with so many of them involved in sport, music, drama and adventure activities alongside their academic study. Exam success only tells a part of the story of their achievements.”

Top performers were Sam McDermott, Lizzie Hester, Adam Sanders and Jasmine Wark, each taking 12 GCSEs and scoring 9 or 10A*s.