Ribston Hall headteacher Sarah Colombini declared herself "incredibly proud" of pupils after they defied testing circumstances to post the school's best A-Level results since 2017.

More than half of pupils at the Gloucester school achieved A*-B with an increase in A* and A grades.

The headteacher said: "Our bright and able students were on course to achieve the highest A-Level grades in a number of years due to their hard work and dedication.

"These results are bittersweet for us as we have seen some grades adjusted for individuals. Staff at school worked tirelessly to submit fair and robust grades for our students, but unfortunately these grades were not used by exam boards for all students."

She continued: "We are incredibly proud of our Year 13 cohort who have shown strength and tenacity during this difficult time.

"Many are going onto fantastic destinations including Oxbridge, a student taking up an American university scholarship and a third of our students going to Russell group universities.

Among those collecting their results today was Charlotte Frail, who confirmed her place reading natural sciences at Bath with A* in biology, chemistry, maths and her extended project qualification.

She said: "It's been a difficult few months so it's a massive relief to get the grades I'd been hoping for and working towards.

"Ribston has been so supportive and I'm so grateful for everything our teachers have done."

Lila Blake is heading to Oxford to study earth science with A* grades in maths and her EPQ to go with As in biology and chemistry.

She said: "I am so pleased to have gained my place at Oxford. What I have loved about Ribston is the community feeling and how the teachers are really supportive. You can always come to them for extra help."

Yasmin Ginwalla, who will be studying modern languages at Warwick with three A* grades in psychology, sociology and Spanish.

She said: "I've never been happier, the hard work pays off so much."