BIDDULPH High School GCSE stars Sam Carey and Samantha Neat are pictured showing off their top exam marks.

Sam Carey gained five A-stars and four As in his exams, and is going on to study maths, further maths, history and music at A level.

Samantha Neat achieved nine As and an A-star, and is to take A levels in English Literature, history, music and German.

Christopher Calvert gained eight A-stars and one A, and Ian Davies earned seven A-stars and two As.

The percentage of students achieving five or more GCSEs at A-star to C was 59 per cent, up by six per cent on last year's results.

"Once again students have smashed previous records and continued a year on year improvement at GCSE," said headteacher Stephen Collier.

"All pupils can be congratulated for their fantastic efforts, which have seen nearly a quarter of all GCSE entries gaining A-star or A grades." Photo by Nina Preece.