DROITWICH Spa High School is celebrating an excellent set of GCSE examination results.

Head Natalie Waters said: “I am delighted that the efforts of students, their teachers and their support staff have been so emphatically rewarded.

“This is a great achievement, one built upon the combined efforts of very many people.

“It is often the headline figures which attract most attention. Whilst we are pleased with these, this really is the story of 270 different members of the school.

“Many of them will have opened envelopes today and found news which will shape the next stage of their lives.

“All of us at the school take great satisfaction from the new opportunities which these students now have before them.”

Among the very top performers this year were 30 students who achieved four or more passes at grades 8 and 9 and the 18 students who gained five or more GCSEs at grades 8 or 9.

They are Anja Kristy, Grace Rogers, Olivia Warburton, Alice Riley, Anele Mbatha, Max Clarke, Danielle Greensall, Faye Davies, Jenny Latta, Joe Harrison, Ben Jallands, James Leavesley, Kimran Sohal, Jake Wakefield, Daisy Neale, Aaron Cheung, Jack Baker and Isabel Parker.

Initial figures for students in Worcestershire show that 67 per cent achieved a standard pass in both English and Maths., a two percent increase over last year.

More than four out of ten students achieved strong passes (grades 5 or above) in both English and maths. A grade 5 is equivalent to a high grade C or low grade B under the previous grading system.

Cllr Marcus Hart, cabinet member with responsibility for education and skills, said: “It’s encouraging to see that more young people in Worcestershire are achieving good grades at GCSE level. These initial figures show that we are making progress but there are still areas where we need to improve and we will continue to work with schools across the county to deliver further improvements.

“A lot of preparation, determination and hard work from staff, students and parents has gone into this set of results, and I’d like to thank everyone for their efforts.”