SHEBBEAR College is celebrating an outstanding year of A-level results with a record number of students achieving A* grades.

The college said that the vast majority of the class of 2017 had succeeded in gaining places at their first choice of university and that more students than ever before had achieve A* grades.

Some of the students will be heading to university in September. Destinations include Imperial College, Birmingham, Leeds, Exeter, Reading, Loughborough, Plymouth, Bath, and Southampton.

Amongst the successes were William Lam and William Cox, who are both off to study Engineering at Imperial College, one of the leading technology universities in the world, having achieved five A* and three A grades between them.

Twins Matt and Olivia Hill will study Pharmacology at Bath. Anna Bennett’s A* in Spanish ensures she can study the language at Exeter University.

Tamsin Alderson gained an A* and two As to secure her place to study Geography at Birmingham.

Students have opted to study a wide range of courses from the sciences to the expressive and creative Arts.

The College’s Art Department had another extraordinary set of results with five A*s, one A and one B.

Shebbear College headteacher, Simon Weale, said: ‘This has been a very stressful experience for the students who have been guinea pigs testing the new exam system. 

‘The results they have achieved are testament to their ability and resilience and I know that each one of our students will go and make a success of the opportunities they have been given.’