PUPILS at schools in Beaconsfield defied national trends to register improved GCSE results this year.

Beaconsfield High School bettered its A* grades across all subjects and also posted higher top grades for sciences, after exams were made harder across the country.

Nationally, there has been a drop of 1.3 per cent in the proportion of pupils receiving the highest grades, with the overall pass rate falling marginally – the first time in 25 years.

But the girls grammar school saw 40 per cent of its year 11s, 60 pupils, achieve nothing lower than an A, with five girls scoring A*s across the board.

Tilly Nevin, 16, one of the girls to register a clean sweep of A*s , now plans to stay at the school to study English Literature, Latin, French and History for her A levels.

Headteacher Annette France said: “‘We are delighted with the results of all our students.

“The importance is not so much the number of A* grades, but the fact that our students achieve their potential and are enabled to follow their dreams. I congratulate them all.”

Meanwhile, the nearby Beaconsfield School was also in a celebratory mood after pupils’ results flew in the face of harsher marking to achieve the best ever results in English and Maths.

Eight departments saw results improve, with the percentage of students getting five A-C grades, including English and Maths, up to 56 per cent, marking a 15 per cent rise in two years.

One of the happy pupils, 16-year-old Sahil Verma, hopes to progress to Wycombe’s RGS in his bid to become an investment banker after notching three A*s, four As, two Bs and a C.

“I feel pretty good after getting these results,” he said.

“I’m a disappointed with getting a C in Spanish but hopefully my grades will be good enough for me to get in.”

Lauren Brake was another of the school’s top ten achievers, and said she hopes her hard work pays off by securing her a place at Beaconsfield High School to study for her A levels.

Head teacher John Fletcher was in a buoyant mood on the day.

He said: “It’s fantastic that we’ve improved in English especially considering the trends nationally. 

“Everyone here is confident, really positive and there’s a tremendous atmosphere here.

"It’s great to see, especially after such a good A level results day last week.”