Weeks of waiting finally came to an end today for thousands of Oxford teenagers as they opened their A-Level results.

Youngsters gathered nervously at their schools and colleges to find out whether they had made the grade, with many having plenty to smile about.

Results Table

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At Oxford's Cheney School, in Headington, results continued to improve for the fourth successive year with 67 per cent of pupils achieving grades A to C and an overall pass rate of 95.3 per cent.

Top of the class was Elliot Carter, who earned himself five A grades and in doing so a place at King's College, Cambridge, to read natural sciences.

Other straight A students included Laura Candy and Medhi Imani Masouleh, who both gained four A grades.

Nine students achieved three grade As or more, including Jordan Newman-Beckett, 18, who got top marks in history, economics, English literature and geography.

He said: "I feel great. Everyone was expecting me to do well but it wasn't confirmed.

"I've not decided what I'm going to do about university yet."

Headteacher Jolie Kirby said she was "delighted" with the results, adding: "This will mean our students will be able to progress on to their chosen university courses."

At The Cherwell School, in Marston Ferry Road, there were scores of students with plenty to smile about as 82.5 per cent gained grades A to C and the overall pass rate was 98.4 per cent.

Headteacher Jill Judson said: "We are delighted with another excellent set of A-Level results.

"We achieved our highest percentage of grade As and over a fifth of the students achieved at least three grade As.

"The results are a credit to our hardworking staff and students."

Oxford Community School, in Glanville Road, celebrated its best ever A-Level results, with a pass rate up to 93 per cent.

Headteacher Steve Lunt said: "I was nervous but I hoped that the students would do well. Our expectations were at least matched and we had students who achieved a string of top results."

Special mention goes to Chris Kilgariff who gained four grade As in economics, English literature, history and politics. He intends to study history at King's College London.

But some students were left to sweat it out to see if they had gained their university place of choice, after their grades fell short of target.

Alex Weston-Solomon, 18, required three Bs to secure his place at Reading to study economics and history, but was awarded two Bs and a C.

He said: "It's over and done with now, and my results were not as bad as they could have been.

"I'm going to speak to Reading to see if I can still get in."

At Matthew Arnold School, Cumnor, teachers and pupils were celebrating after an improvement on last year's results.

A record 71 per cent of pupils gained A to C grades with an overall pass rate of 97 per cent. Ten students achieved three or more straight A grades.

Rosie Jones, 18, was shaking after discovering she had achieved As in chemistry, biology, history and psychology.

She said: "I'm incredibly shaky but very happy and a little surprised. I'm off to Bath to study biochemistry."

Headteacher Katherine Ryan said: "We're really proud of our students' achievements. Our sixth form has almost doubled in size and still we have improved our already high standards."

At Oxford and Cherwell Valley College the overall pass rate was 95 per cent and 66 per cent of pupils achieved A to C grades.

Assistant principal Sue Clarke said: "We're very proud of our students who have worked hard to achieve such excellent results."