PUPILS woke up yesterday to some of the best A level results achieved by schools in the county.

Students flocked to schools to collect results and celebrate or commiserate with friends to discover how they fared and the news was excellent.

John Hampden Grammar School in High Wycombe is among the schools to have achieved record grades and headteacher Stephen Nokes said he was thrilled at the students' performance.

He said: "We are absolutely delighted. We had 118 candidates and a 94 per cent pass rate. We are very pleased and our A/B pass rate is up six per cent on last year to 48 per cent.

"There are lots of individual successes. Some subjects did very well and got as high as 82 per cent A/B grades and Economics got as high as 78 per cent of passes at A and B."

This year students in the first year of A levels sat AS level exams and the school had a pass rate of 80 per cent at A and B grade.

Students at High Wycombe's Royal Grammar School got the second highest A level results in the school's records with 61.4 per cent of grades at A and B.

Student Claude Warnick, 18, was just one of the high flyers at the school, achieving A grades in Chemistry, Maths, Further Maths, Physics and AS level in Further Maths.

Claude said: "I'm really happy and I was really pleased I made the offer for Cambridge."

Headteacher Tim Dingle said he was proud of all the pupils at the school and added: "Everybody has done so well."

Girls at Wycombe Abbey School in High Wycombe scored success with a 100 per cent pass rate at A level and a 67.8 per cent pass rate at grade A alone.

At Wycombe High School in High Wycombe headteacher Liz Duffy said they were overjoyed at the pupils achievements.

She said: "We are delighted at the pupils' success this year and their achievements are even higher than last years record results."

One student managed to gain no fewer than five A-levels, all at grade A, while 25 students at the school achieved three grade As and three gained four grade As.

At Sir William Ramsay School in Rose Avenue, Hazlemere, pupils were celebrating excellent results in A and AS level.

The 33 AS level candidates achieved an overall pass rate of 86 per cent with 55 per cent of results at A and B grades.

Headteacher Bill Richards said: "We are delighted with the results, especially in AS level."

Richard Baddeley, deputy head at Cressex School, in Holmer Lane, High Wycombe, reported progress in students' results.

He said: "I think we can say it's an improvement on last year and a lot of students will be very pleased with their results.

"The results in our GNVQ Advanced students has beaten the national average and generally we are very pleased."

Headteacher Peter Haddon, at St Bernards Catholic Comprehensive School in Daws Hill Lane, High Wycombe, said he was 'delighted' with this year's sixth form results.

He said: "The overall pass rate at A level is our highest ever and also takes us just ahead of the national rates."

The AS level pass rate was 98.6 per cent compared to a national rate of 86.6 per cent.

However for some students at Princes Risborough School the anguish continued as the school waited for the exam boards to confirm students marks.

Nevertheless, headteacher Gaynor Hartle said: "The students are to be congratulated on attaining such a high level of success."

The Beaconsfield School had an A level pass rate of 70 per cent and an AS level pass rate of 79 per cent.

Wye Valley School in Bourne End achieved 17 per cent of grades at A and B and a 78 per cent pass rate.

Beaconsfield High School achieved 97 per cent A level pass rate with 54 per cent at grades A and B.