Truro School has achieved its best A Level results in four years with 77 per cent of all exams graded A*, A or B, an increase on last year’s 73 per cent. The school also achieved an average 99.7 per cent pass rate with over half of all exams graded A* or A standard.

As the students arrived on Thursday morning for the last time at the school’s Sixth Form Centre, there were plenty of smiles and individual successes to celebrate.

All five of Truro School’s Upper Sixth Oxbridge students have excelled. Catherine Shepherd, head girl, has been accepted into Oxford to read French and German at St Hugh’s College and Marina Scott is set to read philosophy at Cambridge’s Sidney Sussex College. Cambridge entrants include James Richardson and Sophie Kitching who are both going to read natural sciences at Magdalene College and Downing College respectively. These students achieved 12 A* grades and two A grades between them.

Another student with a smile on her face was Kitty Broger-Bareham who has secured a prestigious Dickson Poon Law Scholarship at King’s College’s specialist Dickson Poon School of Law in London. After being only one of 75 students to be awarded the scholarship nationally, an ecstatic Kitty said: “I’m very happy with my results and it is a big relief.”

Arsentiy Novak is heading to King’s College after achieving three A grades, enabling him to study religion, philosophy and ethics at King’s College, London. Alongside his degree Arsentiy, who this year achieved his Gold Medal from the London Academy of Music and Drama, will study drama in the evening at drama school to continue his interests on the stage. He is one of 15 students travelling up to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival next week to perform in their production called Academy of Risk.

Arsentiy said: “I was afraid that my results were going to have an impact on my Edinburgh Fringe performance but I got the grades I needed so I’m very happy. I am now going to do a philosophy degree as well as a foundation part-time degree at a drama school.”

There was also success for Yvonne Chart who is one of a growing number of students who have applied to universities abroad. Yvonne, who has represented Great Britain in fencing, has been accepted into Northwestern University in the USA, after achieving four A grades and is set to continue fencing training alongside reading engineering.

Andrew Gordon-Brown, headmaster of Truro A School said: “I am so proud of our students who are celebrating some very impressive exam results. Of particular note is Truro School's continued success in bucking national trends with excellence in science and modern language results. In physics and geology over two thirds of grades were at A* or A, and in French, German and Spanish, the department was rewarded with over 80 per cent A*-A grades.

"These successes should not detract from our impressive results in the arts and humanities, with history and English literature each receiving 88 per cent grades at A*-B and all music candidates achieving grades at this standard. Our excellent teachers also deserve many thanks because part of the success in all subjects this year stems from our rigorous tracking, monitoring and intervention process guided by our strong pastoral and academic team.”