EXAM stress was replaced with success as Saffron Walden County High School students celebrated achieving excellent A-level results last Thursday. The 18-year-olds maintained the school s high standards in recent years, with 72 per cent of the grades being

EXAM stress was replaced with success as Saffron Walden County High School students celebrated achieving excellent A-level results last Thursday.

The 18-year-olds maintained the school's high standards in recent years, with 72 per cent of the grades being A or B and the overall pass rate being 99 per cent.

Headteacher John Hartley said: "These excellent results can be attributed to some outstanding teaching, a very determined and positive attitude amongst the students and the individual support and guidance which they receive from specialist tutors.

"Our approach is very much one of setting challenging target grades, monitoring progress and then intervening at an early stage to give individuals the support they need to keep on track."

Pictured, from left to right, are: Luka Wright who will be studying pharmaceutical chemistry at Leicester University; Sarah Eastwood will be moving to Southampton to do English; Matthew Hasler whose five As have booked him a place at Girton College, Cambridge to study philosophy; Adam Wilkinson got four As and will read biochemistry at St Anne's College, Oxford; Sam Goddard is off to Australia on a gap year before going to Nottingham University to study engineering; Zehan Wang achieved four A grades and will study maths and computing science at Imperial College London; and John Clenshaw secured three As and a B to claim a place at Anglia Ruskin University in Cambridge to study forensic science.