THERE were smiles all round today (August 25) as Tavistock College celebrated achieving some of its best GCSE results yet.

Overall results in English and maths were 78% and 70% grades A* to C, which shows a marked improvement in standards at the college.

The progress measure introduced for the first time this year is said to be positive and many faculties have exceeded expectations.

These include subjects such as maths, English literature, history, French, drama, psychology and graphic design. In sport, nearly all students gained a double A* and in Japanese over 71% of students gained an A* or A grade.

Top performing students included Molly Bolding, who gained 9 A* grades and three A grades; Rebecca Banks gained six A*s and seven As; Tamara Speare gained seven A* grades and four A grades; Samuel Chambers gained seven A* grades and four A grades; Joseph Carver gained eight A*s and one A and Errikos Harrison gained one distinction*, six A*s and three As.

Molly Bolding said: ‘I got full marks for both English subjects which I was not expecting. That was pretty mind-blowing.’

Molly will now be going on to sixth form at the college to study English literature, history, Spanish and maths or psychology with hopes of going into a career in teaching in the future.

James Watts was pleased to have done really well despite being incredibly ill and in and out of hospital throughout the year.

He managed to achieve an A in chemistry and mostly B and C grades, despite having been off school for two thirds of the year. His parents thanked the support the school had given him during Year 11. He will now also go on to sixth form at the college.

Sarah Jones, principal at the college, said: ‘All the staff and governors at the college are extremely proud of our students’ achievements this year.

‘Results day represents the culmination of a huge amount of work by our students in partnership with my teaching staff and the unsung heroes — the parents at home. I am delighted to see so many smiling faces as students look forward to taking the next step in their educational journey.‘

Julie Greener, head of Year 11, said during the results day: ‘I couldn’t be more proud of all the students. It is a fantastic year group and they have done so well. Well done for all their success and I’m so happy to see so many smiles today.’