A SCHOOL in Darlington was celebrating yesterday after breaking the borough record for GCSE results.

This year, 91 per cent of Carmel RC Technology College students gained at least five GCSEs at grades A* to C - the benchmark to continue in education.

Last year, only 58 per cent of Carmel students hit this target. The previous Darlington record was 79 per cent - achieved at Hurworth School Maths and Computing College last year.

James O'Neill, Carmel headteacher, said: "We expected to get good results this year, everyone has worked exceptionally hard."

He thanked pupils, staff, governors and parents and said he was particularly pleased the boys results matched that of the girls at a time when the raising of boys' achievement was a major concern nationally.

Hummersknott School and Language College also achieved record-breaking results as 71 per cent of students gained five or more A* to C grades; an increase of 11 per cent on last year.

Headteacher Pat Howarth said: "We are very pleased with the outstanding achievements of the students."

Darlington's GCSE performance improved by seven per cent up to 56 per cent getting five or more A* to C grades. The comparable national average has been unofficially put at 58.5 per cent.

Although Darlington's performance was below this national average, it was higher than the other four Tees Valley authorities - Stockton, Middlesbrough, Hartlepool and Redcar and Cleveland.

Margaret Asquith, Darlington Borough Council's director of children's services, who has recently expressed concerns about the town's performance at GCSE, said: "Our rate of improvement this year has been remarkable and this will be a good base for the future."

Hurworth School's pass rate was roughly the same as last year with 79 per cent achieving five or more A* to Cs.

Headteacher Dean Judson said he was confident results would improve even further if plans to merge his school with Eastbourne Comprehensive in a new Hurworth School get the go-ahead.

Longfield Comprehensive improved, up almost four per cent to 44 per cent.

Eastbourne Comprehensive's pass rate dipped slightly to 32 per cent, but Haughton Community School, soon to become part of a multi-million education village, saw an improvement of five per cent up to 41 per cent.

Branksome Comprehensive, currently in special measures, improved slightly, with 42 per cent hitting the benchmark.

Ninety per cent of pupils at Polam Hall School gained five or more A* to C grades