YEAR 11 pupils at Friends’ School in Saffron Walden are celebrating after an impressive set of exam results.

The five or more A*-C pass rate was 76 per cent, an improvement on the 73 per cent last year, while 100pc of students achieved A*-G grades.

Just under 20pc were awarded the top A*/A grades, with 46pc achieving A*-B.

Many students at Friends’ had a “considerable value added score”, which measures how the individual has improved since beginning their studies.

Inn some cases, students improved by more than a grade across, while the average for the whole cohort was slightly less than a whole grade.

Headteacher Anna Chaudhri said: “This reflects the hard work of staff in helping all students achieve. The best grades reflect the application of the individual students and the more rigorous marking at GCSE has not deterred them from attaining top grades, so that they are well placed to move on to their chosen courses post-16.”