THOUSANDS of teenagers across the region have collected record-breaking GCSE results.

Provisional scores showed many North-East education authorities achieved significantly better results than last year.

The percentage of students achieving at least five A* to C grades increased in Durham, Middlesbrough, Darlington, Hartlepool and Stockton.

There were also some remarkable personal tales of achievement, including Rachel Grandey, a pupil at Acklam Grange School, Middlesbrough, who achieved 17 GCSEs - 15 at grade A* and two grade As.

Yesterday, headteacher John Bate said: "Rachel could have coped doing 25."

Another impressive performance came from 13-year-old Matthew Barnish, of Ferryhill, County Durham, who gained an A grade in his GCSE maths.

Meanwhile, a school netball team celebrated after scoring 82 grade As between them. The ten girls play in the under-16 team at Emmanuel College, in Gateshead.

Sixteen-year-old Michael Chapman, from Sadberge, near Darlington, impressed his teachers after achieving all A and B grades, despite battling cancer.

Meanwhile, golfer Ellie Givens, 16, collected her five A* and five A grades from Polam Hall School, Darlington, hours before representing the North of England in a tournament.

She had juggled her studies with playing for England under-16s and elite under-18s.

"I'm so pleased with my results," she said. "It takes a lot of time practising golf every day and working on my fitness. I had to take a lot of care planning my time, but it has definitely paid off."

But it was not all celebration.

The Unity Academy, in Middlesbrough, which is already in special measures, suffered another blow as its pass rate fell two per cent,with only 15 per cent of pupils gaining five A* to C passes.

However at Teesside High School, in Eaglescliffe, near Stockton, 100 per cent of youngsters achieved this benchmark.

In North Yorkshire, education chiefs said it was too early to tell how the county had fared, but it is expected that students will achieve another set of bumper scores.

Nationally, the comparable figure was put unofficially at 58.5 per cent.

Officially, the total number of A* to C grades increased by two per cent to 61.2 per cent - the biggest rise for 13 years.

The number of students taking French and German plummeted, leading experts to warn that students who may have gained D or E grades had dropped more difficult languages and sciences to help schools achieve in a "target and league table culture".

Professor Alan Smithers, of the University of Buckingham, said: "It looks as though schools in the target and league table culture are increasingly juggling with pupils' entries to maximise the school's standing."

Headteachers condemned the Government's decision to make languages optional after the age of 14 - a rule change that came into effect last September.

Union leaders called the decline a catastrophe, saying the number of students taking languages was in "free-fall".

Schools Minister Jacqui Smith said: "We know the best way to develop a love of language learning is to start early. That's why every primary school child will be offered the opportunity to learn a language by 2010."