Nationally more than 65 per cent of exams taken were awarded A* to C grades, a rise of 2.4 per cent from 63.3 per cent last year.

• To view a video report on the students' success by Chad's Nick Brimacombe, click on the green play icon

Pass rates also soared to 98.4 per cent, with more than one-fifth of papers being awarded either an A* or A grade.

And early figures across Nottinghamshire show that more pupils than ever are gaining the all-important five or more A* to C GCSE grades, including English and Maths, with a further increase in those gaining A* to G passes.

Many schools in the area are continuing to see rising standards as the country celebrated another record-breaking year of results.

And celebrations at All Saints' RC School in Mansfield were heard along the corridors as excited students ripped open their result envelopes.

Two years of hard work paid off as 67 per cent of hardworking pupils achieved an A* to C pass rate –– an impressive 10 per cent increase on last year.

The school achieved an overall pass rate of 99 per cent for grades A* to G with 47 per cent of students scoring A* to C grades in English and Maths –– beating the Government target of 30 per cent.

And delighted deputy headteacher Terry Mahon told Chad that all pupils should be proud of their results.

"I would like to give a huge congratulations to our students for their achievements," he said.

"And would also like to thank the staff who have worked extremely hard over the past two years to support them.

"Teachers, students and governors working together has contributed to raising standards of achievement across the school and we would also like to thank parents for their continued support of our young people and the school.

"We are sure that Mr Ken Daly, who retired from his post as headteacher earlier this year, would be very happy with the outcomes for all our students."