SIXTH form students across the Malvern district were celebrating yesterday as A'Level results were announced.

In a year where average results were again higher than previous years all schools in the area performed well.

At Hanley Castle High School, headteacher Alan Johnston said boys at the school had done slightly better than girls, bucking the national trend.

"We were very pleased with the overall results which were well above the national average," he said.

Peter Buchanan, headteacher at Dyson Perrins C of E High School said students had coped very well with pressure to produce excellent results.

Dysons' top student was Liam Kirton, who gained 4 A grades at A'Level and a grade 1 in S'Level Maths.

The Chase had an overall pass rate of 97 per cent with almost 50 per cent of those being A or B grades.

Eight students from the school achieved four or more grade As.

Two, Camilla Bounds and Matthew Smith, came among the top five students nationally for English Literature A'Level.

Camilla has a place at Merton College, Oxford, to study English and French while Matthew is heading off to Christchurch College, Oxford.

Head of Sixth Form, Aydin na, said: "It's a brilliant year once again, the sixth year in succession."

Headteacher David Fawbert added: "It never ceases to amaze me that teachers and students at The Chase achieve such first rate results on an annual basis."

Malvern College pupils achieved an average of more than 24 UCAS points in their A levels and International Baccalaureate exams, compared with 22 points achieved last year.

Angie Fearnside, head of Sixth Form at St James's School in West Malvern, said that they had had some excellent results.

At Malvern Girls' College students were celebrating a 99.3 per cent pass rate.

"We are so please with all the girls, they have worked very hard and there have been some particular individual successes," said Philippa Leggate, headteacher at the college.