CHARTERS School's Rachael Ellis was almost speechless after tearing open her GCSE results envelope to find she had achieved 15 A* grades and one A.

She said: "I am very, very happy, it was not what I expected at all, I cannot even speak at the moment! I did have really high hopes but I am just shocked.

"I'm especially happy because my brother and sister also got very good results when they did their GCSEs so there was a bit of pressure on me!" Eighty-five per cent of the 250 pupils at the Sunningdale school achieved five or more A*-C grades, the highest ever results for the school. Meanwhile, the overall pass rate (A*-G) was 99.6%.

Retiring headteacher, Marcia Twelftree said "We are all delighted with the outstanding success of this year's pupils after all the hard work they put into preparing for their examinations." There was double delight at Licensed Victuallers' School where two sets of twins were among the high achievers.

Caroline and Sarah Yates gained 11A*, 7A and two B grades between them, while Lucy and Katy Morris collected 3A*s, 9As, 4Bs and 3Cs. Out of the 111 candidates at the non-selective independent school, 92% gained at least five A*-C grades. Twenty-one students achieved six or more A*-A grades. These included George Gallagher who gained seven A*s and four As, and is returning to LVS to start his A-levels in maths and science.

Headmaster, Graham Best, said: "This is a very pleasing set of results, consistent with the successes of recent years. As a non-selective school we are extremely proud of all our students' achievements which have prepared them well for their continued studies next year." At Marist Senior School Rachel Pyle picked up an A* in her Spanish GCSE despite being in Year 8.

Other high achievers at the Sunninghill school included Josie Teale who gained 11 A*s, and Suchita Patel who picked up 10.

Josie said: "I got those results in my mocks but obviously I wasn't expecting to do quite as well in the real exams." Suchita added: "I was expecting some As but not all A*s, so it was a nice surprise especially in English." In total 84% of Marist GCSE students achieved A*, A and B grades this year, with 100% of students achieving five A*-C grades.

Headteacher Karl McCloskey said: "I'm delighted with them, it's been a good year group and they've worked so hard." Headteacher at St George's School, Caroline Jordan, was quick to highlight her girls' record breaking performance.

She said: "It's our best ever result for A*s and As, 71%, and they've been a super year. They've worked really hard and they deserve all the congratulations." One of the nine St George's girls to achieve all A*s and As at the school in Wells Lane, Ascot, was Felicity Robertson.

She said: "I wasn't expecting that so I'm a bit bewildered by it. I was hoping for Bs and a few As.

"I'm going to do A-levels in Drama, Spanish, Maths, Economics and Chemistry."