NORTH Yorkshire has topped the national A-level league. The results of students in the county improved over last year and are also better than those achieved nationally.

Figures show that almost 23pc gained passes at grade A and 96pc a pass, compared with 21pc gaining As nationally and 94pc a pass. Results overall are about 2pc better than last year.

The pattern mirrors the national picture in which pupils are taking fewer A levels, but achieving higher grade passes.

Passes in biology and chemistry are better than last year, while physics is about the same. Maths entries seem to be down across North Yorkshire, though the quality is holding. The percentage achieving higher grades in French is slightly down, but numbers are up for both geography and German.

At Northallerton College, the overall rate was well over 97pc, and the picture was much the same at Thirsk School.

The 98 students sitting the exams at Northallerton pushed the rate up to 97.6pc, three points higher than last year. The number of A and B grades rose nearly four points to 46.8pc.

Top of the class was Matthew Robinson with four A grades, closely followed by Alexandra Vincenti (straight A grades in three A-levels and two AS levels) and Thomas Pickard (three A grades plus other passes totalling 500 points).

Others notching up three Grade As and other passes were Adam Graham, Richard Oxley and Joanne Garlick.

Of the 86 students taking AVCE (Advanced Vocational Certificate of Education) - equal to two A levels - well over a third achieved A or B levels.

The principal Jennifer Slater said: "These splendid results are an excellent way of celebrating a year in which the college completes a £1m expansion project."

At Thirsk School, head teacher, Chris Lewis, was equally delighted. "A good number of youngsters have four A-levels each which is quite something. These are hard-work grades.

"This is the year in which the experiment of AS levels came to fruition and so these young people are the ones who have suffered more exam and work pressure than any study group before them."

Mr Lewis also attacked reports that A levels are getting easier.

"This is simply not true," he said. "The students have worked very hard to achieve these results."

Richmond School celebrated its best ever A-level results, with a 98.6pc pass rate, nearly 80pc at grade C or above. Ten of the 123 candidates who sat the exams achieved straight As, but the school stuck to its policy of not publishing individual results.

Head teacher, Jim Jack, described the success as "phenomenal" and congratulated all successful students, from grades A to E. "I am delighted for all concerned, even more so because the platform built by these young people means that the vast majority are able to move into their chosen employment or higher education with confidence," he said.

He condemned what he described as "carping criticism" from some academics that the year's bumper pass rates nationally were the result of easier exams and softer marking.

"This new system and its introduction has not been a cakewalk for anyone involved in education," said Mr Jack.

He urged universities and other higher education institutions to embrace the ethos behind the new exam system.

Nearly 70pc of the offers of higher education places to Richmond School students were still made on the basis of gaining three good A-levels, which contradicted the Government's drive towards breadth of studies and key skills.

"No value seems to be attached to key skills achievements, breadth of study or subjects taken to AS level for one year," said Mr Jack.

Nearly a quarter (24.3pc) of the 358 A-levels taken at the school were passed at grade A, 30.2pc at B, 25.4pc at C, 11.7pc at D and 7pc at E.

Wensleydale School, in Leyburn, saw one of the smallest groups of students sit A-levels this year. The 17 candidates took a total of 69 exams with a 97pc pass rate, 70pc of the grades ranking A to C. There were no straight A candidates, but head teacher, David Eaton, described it as "a year of solid performance with a good smattering of A and B grades."

He praised students and staff who had worked hard with the new AS level system. "We are extremely pleased with these results," he said.