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A-level results day 2017 - students across the Black Country get their results

There were jubilant scenes across the Black Country and Staffordshire as thousands of students celebrated another bumper crop of A-level results.

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Barr Beacon School pupils Charlotte Haycock, Zachary Smith, Rea Moore, Joseph Basnett and Sam Mills

Many schools and colleges saw their pass rates rise and around the region happy teenagers were all smiles as they secured places at university.

Star students at The Royal School in Wolverhampton, included Gregor Reid, who will be studying neuroscience at Glasgow after achieving three A*s in biology, chemistry and mathematics, and an A in physics.

Head Boy Karun Saini attained two As in mathematics and chemistry, a B in biology and an A in Extended Project Qualification (EPQ). Deputy Head Boy Billy Tran achieved two As in biology and chemistry and a B in mathematics. He will be pursuing pharmacy at Queen’s University in Belfast.

Top performing girls Sara Bharoochi, Katharina Topp and Hebe Liu have all received places at their first-choice universities. Sara plans to study sociology at Coventry University, Katharina will be studying international business at Glasgow Caledonian University and Hebe will be heading to Coventry University to study marketing and public relations.

Students and staff at Smestow School in Castlecroft, Wolverhampton, recorded a 100 per cent pass rate in more than 20 subjects and improved performance overall.

Thirty-two students at Wolverhampton Girls' High School gained A*s and As in all their subjects.

Head Girl, Olivia Westwood achieved five A*s and will be going on to study mathematics at Birmingham. Whilst Jiachen Wang achieved four A*s and will be reading mathematics and economics at LSE.

Tettenhall College was celebrating two thirds of its pupils gaining A*to B grades.

It also saw 33 per cent of its pupils gain top A* and A marks and an overall pass rate of 94 per cent.

Standout performances included Elizabeth Harvey, from Codsall, with three A*s and Max Toor with two A*s and an A.

Year 13s at Bishop Milner Catholic College in Dudley achieved a 100 per cent pass rate in 19 subjects.

They include Head Boy Matvinder Sangha who has one Distinction*, two As and a B and Emmanuel Chidamwoyo and Billy J Cox who both achieved three Distinction* performances.

Principal Steve Haywood said: “Following much hard work over the last two years, the directors and staff of Bishop Milner Catholic College would like to congratulate all of our Sixth Form students on their well-deserved examination results.

"We wish them every happiness and further success for the future."

There was a 100 per cent pass rate in 32 subjects at Halesowen College. High achievers included Joel Workman with three As,a B and a D*D in his diploma in music performance.

At Windsor Sixth Form in Halesowen, 45 per cent of all grades were at A* to B.Fifteen students achieved the equivalent of at least three A* or A grades

All students at Old Swinford Hospital in Stourbridge passed their exams across 24 subjects.

Footballer Charles Hadfield and musician Toby Attwood, both from Stourbridge, have been at OSH since Year 7 and now leave with three A*s and three As between them.

Charles will now go on to Bath University to study mathematics and Toby to Birmingham to study physics. Bradley Kennedy who obtained one A* and three As will also go Birmingham where he will study mathematics while Meg Wainwright Brown and Isobel Smith also from Stourbridge will be studying nursing at the University of Birmingham.

Ormiston Forge Academy in Cradley Heath capped off the academic year with 84 per cent of the A-level cohort achieving three or more passes at grades A*-E.

In total 55 per cent earned three or more A-level passes at A* to C and 28 per cent achieved A* to B grades.

Just under half of the cohort, 49 students, were studying purely for A levels, with the remaining students taking a mixture of A levels and vocational subjects.

Principal Andrew Burns said: "Last year we were in the top 16 per cent in the country for progress, this year the results have improved yet again. It's a measure of how hard our students are working and the high bar each consecutive year group sets for the next."

Record results have been recorded at Shireland Collegiate Academy in Smethwick. This year the Academy gained a 98 per cent overall pass rate with 40 per cent grades at A*-B and 74 per cent of BTEC grades at Distinction or higher.

Principal David Irish said: “I’m delighted to see so many of our students gaining excellent grades."

Seven students had extra reason to celebrate after gaining 3 or 4 A or A* grades.

Results at Oldbury Academy have improved significantly across all areas with students achieving a total pass rate of 98.2 per cent, a four per cent improvement on last year. .

Headteacher, Mr Philip Shackleton said: "Congratulations to all of our students, who have worked tremendously hard to achieve an incredible set of results. Many of these students have been with us for seven years and these results are just rewards for their efforts."

He said special mention should go Rachel Kershaw who secured a Triple Distinction* in BTEC Health and Social Care. While Josh Libra, Josh Rogers, Matthew Stokes and Sam Watts all achieved a Triple Distinction* in BTEC Sport. Sonia Kaur Kooner achieved an A* in RE, A in sociology, and C in history and Kieron Landa received a B in law and sociology, and a C in psychology.

There were improvements across the board at Ormiston Shelfield Community Academy in Walsall.

Across the vocational and A-level subjects, a brilliant two-thirds of entries were graded at the higher levels of A* to C, and almost every entry achieved a pass. And every single student who applied to university has achieved the grades they needed to officially secure their place.

They include Head Girl, Laura Mitchell, who achieved a B and two Cs and will study human resources at Aston University.

While Head Boy, Matthew Little is celebrating securing an apprenticeship offer from Aston Martin

A third of grades for students at Barr Beacon School in Walsall were at A* or A.

Charlotte Haycock achieved 2 As and a Distinction* and will be reading psychology., Zachary Smith achieved three As and will be reading optometry at university.

Rea Moore achieved two As, a B with A* in EPQ and said she felt 'exhilarated' about reading film studies at King's College London.

Joseph Basnett achieved two As and a B and will be reading astrophysics at Aberystwyth University where he impressed admissions tutors so much he earned an unconditional offer and a scholarship. "I scored 91 per cent on the admissions test. I can’t wait," he said.

While Sam Mills achieved an A* and two As with an A* in EPQ and will be reading mathematics and economics at university.

Headteacher Lynsey Draycott said: “We are so pleased that the hard work has paid off for our sixth formers."