STAR student Alison Peacock topped the exam charts at Northallerton College when she discovered yesterday she had managed an amazing 12 A* grade passes.

She as one of nine outstanding youngsters at the college who scored more than eight A-grades in their GCSEs.

And the college as a whole was also on cloud nine as students and staff celebrated a vintage haul of results.

About 290 students took GCSEs and the number of A-star and A grades jumped almost four percent to 17.2 per cent. And the pass rate right across the board was also up, to 99.6 per cent.

In the fast-track language scheme, 41 younger students took GCSE French one year early. Eleven got A*s, 18 got As, ten scored Bs and there were two Cs.

College principal Jennifer Slater said: "This is a marvellous return on the investment of all the hard work put in by students and staff."

The other eight students to score more than eight A grades were: Amy Pattison, Catherine Anstay, Jennifer Buckley, Jess Jones, Anne Scaife, Martin Eddleston and Steve Hermon.