PUPILS at Witney and West Oxfordshire schools are among the high fliers in the county, achieving some of the best personal results in this year's A-Level exams.

Henry Box, Wood Green, Chipping Norton, and Marlborough are among the county's top six state schools in boasting ten or more students gaining A-grades in three or more subjects.

As results were collected last Thursday, there were whoops of delight and smiles all round.

At Henry Box School, Witney, headteacher, Rod Walker, has gone out on an A-Level high, with a record number of 15 students at the school achieving three straight A-grades.

Mr Walker is retiring after 11 years at Henry Box, and said: "I am really pleased to be leaving on such a high note.

"Although we had our best A-Level results ever two years ago, this has been a great year group with some top students."

And at the town's Wood Green school, where 12 students achieved straight As, headteacher, Cynthia Savage, said they were the best results, with a 100 per cent pass rate.

Among the star students were twins Dominic and Guy Fenn, both 18.

Head of sixth form, Sue Hine, who has now left after 14 years to study an MA degree in the history of art at Oxford Brookes University, said: "This is a wonderful way to round off my time at Wood Green."

Fifteen teenagers at Henry Box gained three straight A-grades, including both head boy Dan Surman and head girl Rachel Taylor.

Dan is now off to Oriel College, Oxford, to study computer science. He said: "It's a shame Mr Walker's leaving, he's been a great head. He was really helpful to me when I needed to know how to deal with interview for Oxford.

"People who say A-Levels are getting easier should try and sit them. There's a lot of work gone into this success."

Rachel, who has just been to summer school for classical Greek, is off to Cambridge University to study classics - Henry Box is a specialist language school.

She said: "The results are fantastic, and definitely well deserved. Everyone has been slogging away."

A total of 109 students took the exams - the school's highest number - and more than 80 per cent gained top A, B or C-grades.

Claire Caton achieved C-grades, and said: "I'm happy because I expected them to be lower."

The top students, with straight As, were: Harriet Boyd, Rosie Collins, Louise Coy, Sophie Dodds, Amie Doidge, Tom Fletcher, Katie Godfrey, Heidi Lightfoot, Tom Mankelow, Amy Mason, Hayley Paget, Dan Surman, Rachel Taylor, Esther Thomas, and Sophie Nash.

Top students at Wood Green were: Harriet Bond, Emma Bourton, Alexander Devonald, Andrew Dimond, Dominic Fenn, Guy Fenn, Peter McLoughlin, Hannah Pike, Jack Purkiss, George Ryall, Carianne Whitworth, and Stephen Worthy.

At Burford School, the pass rate was 99.7 per cent, with 79.4 per cent in the top A to C-grades.

Headteacher, Patrick Sanders, said: "I am absolutely delighted, they are the best A-Level results we have ever had. Unusually, our top eight performers were all male."

At Marlborough School, Woodstock, 13 pupils achieved three straight As or higher, and the majority are going on to their first choice of university.

There was a 98 per cent pass rate for the 92 A-Level students, with 76 per cent gaining A to C-grades.

Bartholomew School, Eynsham, had 72 students, with a 98 per cent pass rate, and chalked up improvements for the fourth consecutive year.

Nine students gained three or more A-grades: Carla Barrett, Holly Dennison, Ben Dodds, Ruth Greenwood, Tasmin Haigh, Miranda Hammond, Michael Horrocks, Miranda Scott, and Hannah Sensecall.

Headteacher, Andrew Hamilton, said: "The school has been consistently among the top four performing state schools in Oxfordshire, and these results should secure this position once more."

The county council's cabinet member for school improvement, Michael Waine, said: "Today is about celebrating the achievements of our young people who have worked hard towards their A and AS-levels.

"Teaching staff deserve credit for all their work. I would also like to thank parents for the support they have given."