AT Dame Allan's School in Newcastle, a record number of pupils achieved top grades, with 65 per cent securing As and Bs.

Two of their County Durham pupils, Aimee Conway, from Mount Pleasant, and John Horsley, from Lanchester, achieved four A grades in their A-levels. John has secured a place at Edinburgh to study engineering, while Aimee is to study law and politics at Edinburgh.

Two pupils, Joanna Lewis and Jenna Bays, achieved six A grades at A-level.

Joanna, from Heugh, near Stamfordham, has had an offer from Girton College, Cambridge, to study natural sciences, while Jenna, from South Shields, hopes to study maths at New Hall College, Cambridge.

Full result listings can be seen in today's Northern Echo