Epsom College students were celebrating some of the school’s best ever GCSE results today.

At the public school, in College Road, Epsom, 38 per cent of all grades awarded were A*s, compared to 34 per cent last year, while 72 per cent of the grades were in the A* and A range.  92 per cent were at A* to B.

Results were particularly strong in Art, where 85 per cent of entries received an A* grade and 100 per cent were in the A*-A range, Religious Studies where 94 per cent of students were awarded A* or A grades and Biology with 87 per cent of grades at A* or A.

Top performers at the school were Jamie Anderson, who achieved 10 A*s and one A grade, and Harriet Jennings, Nicholas Whitehead and Ella Witts, who all achieved 10 A*s.

A spokeswoman said: “These are outstanding  results for the college given the major changes that took effect this year, which included the abolition of exam windows in January and March, forcing all pupils to sit GCSEs at the same time in the summer; an effective ban on re-sitting exams and entering pupils early because of new-style league tables that only count a pupil's first attempt in official rankings; a reform of GCSEs in English, placing a greater emphasis on the end of course exams; and the introduction of a tougher Geography GCSE intended to cover the full syllabus.”