THERE were cheers in schools and colleges across South Wiltshire and the New Forest last week as A-Level students collected their results.

All 157 girls at South Wilts Grammar School passed their examinations and 71 per cent of those grades were As or Bs. Eight of the students gained four or more A grades and one student, Kirstie Biggs, gained five. Isabel Eeles and Tessa Henderson both gained one of the top five marks in the country in art and design.

Bishop Wordsworth's School achieved a 71 per cent pass rate at grade A or B, boasting 29 boys achieving straight A grades.

Godolphin School also had an outstanding result with 64.1 per cent A or B grades. Of the 62 students taking A-Levels eight got straight As. Vivian Ngan and Jances Pang got four As each and Rosie Lloyd, Beckie Marshall, Camilla Highcock, Lilly Hetherington, Sarah Carrie and Imogen Marshall all got three.

Head of Sixth Form at Salisbury High School, Be Kuzniar, said it had been a great year for their students with 74 per cent passes and 32 per cent A or B grades. John Stoddart did particularly well achieving two As and two Bs at A-Level and AS students Gemini Brookes, Robert De'ath and Chloe Savage also shone with two As each.

Salisbury College was delighted with the increase in passes to 97.3 per cent with 36.5 per cent either an A or B grade.

Ringwood School pupils had a near-perfect 99.8 per cent pass rate.

Chris Edwards, the headteacher, said the 52 per cent percentage of A and B grades was also phenomenal.

Outstanding pupils from the school include Igor Plahin with four A grades at A level and an A grade at AS level, head girl Megan Sharp with three A grades and Jack Morley who achieved four A grades and is going to Cambridge to study Mathematics. Other outstanding pupils are Samantha Laurilla who got four A grades and Caroline Gillespie who will be going on to Oxford to do veterinary medicine.

The Burgate School in Fordingbridge received outstanding results for individuals and as a whole. A-Level exams were 97 per cent passes and 47 per cent at A or B. Several pupils stood out, including Christopher Cotton, who got five As in maths, further maths, chemistry, physics and history; Antony Farrington, achieving As in maths, further maths, chemistry, electronics, physics and general studies; and Natalie Bradfield, who got As in French, German, geography, English language and general studies.

Brockenhurst College achieved a 98 per cent pass rate, with 74 per cent of papers achieving grades A to C. Phillipa Waterhouse, a student from Salisbury, achieved three A grades. She said: "I am really pleased with my results. I am now going on to study sociology at Southampton University."

Pupils at Totton College celebrated a 98 per cent pass rate this year, with high-grade passes rising considerably to 66 per cent. Outstanding pupils include Lucy Warren who will study physiotherapy at Cardiff after achieving straight A grades in biology, French, PE and general studies and also an A grade in AS English literature.

Pupils at Wimborne's Queen Elizabeth School achieved a 97 per cent pass rate, with 67 per cent A to C grades.

Outstanding pupils receiving three A grades at A level and an A grade at AS are Emma Symons, Phillipa Bell, Ben Crossman, Claire Bridle and Sophia Dayus.

Students at the joint Shaftesbury School/ Sturminster Newton High Sixth Form celebrated another year of exceptional results with several pupils shining. David Jack got five As, Sascha Knabe gained four As at A-Level and two at AS, and Ruth Henry and Anna Hildebrand both got three As and a B. St. Mary's School in Shaftesbury is very pleased with its results this year - 93 per cent graded A-C. Six out of the 37 students gained straight As - Celia Asquith, Millie Bacon, Katie Hall, Phoebe Higson, Victoria Stuart and Georgia Connolly. Georgia triumphed with four As and will read medicine at Bristol University. Avon Valley College in Durrington is very happy with its 100% pass rate at A level.

Both average points per student and average points per exam were up from 2006, which was itself a good year.