There were smiles all around in Truro School’s sixth form common room this morning as A-Level students celebrated two years of hard work with an overall 99.7 per cent pass rate.

Over one-third of all grades were A* or A, with nearly two-thirds of grades between A* and B.

Headmaster Andrew Gordon-Brown said: “I am delighted to see so many smiles and tears of joy today. These results are the culmination of two years of dedication from our students and indeed everyone involved with Truro School.

"What has impressed me the most is some of the individual achievements, not just from the 15 students who achieved three A*/A’s or better, but also those students who have excelled in specialist areas, many performing above expectations. There are also a number of triumphs for students for whom more modest grades are a real success story.

"When focusing on academic subjects there are strong performances across a broad spectrum; maths, physics and modern foreign languages have done particularly well with approximately 75 per cent of students achieving A* to B. A very similar picture is evident in the humanities with history and religious studies.

"The results in the creative and performing arts arena continue to excel here at Truro School with more than 75 per cent of our students achieving A* to B in the subjects of art, drama, design technology and music.

"I have also been impressed with our stellar performance in the Extended Project Qualification (EPQ), a subject which represents an optional extra A-Level qualification that allows pupils to study any topic of interest during their two years in the sixth form. I am over the moon to see that a phenomenal 79 per cent of projects were graded A* to A in the EPQ. This is a great celebration of the individuality of our students that we embrace so much here at Truro School.”

Among all the hugs and emotion there have been some notable success stories for a number of Truro School students.

Lauren Nilsson is off to study mechanical engineering at Bath University after achieving four A*s in maths, further maths, chemistry and physics. She said: “It’s been amazing, loads of support, the teachers are great and always there to give advice. It’s been an emotional and nervous day. It means everything, I was really worried and I couldn’t be happier.”

While most of his friends will be heading off to university in September, Otto Mead has secured himself a prestigious Chaucer Syndicates’ Apprenticeship in London. The underwriting programme with the leading insurance group will support Otto in achieving chartered insurance status.

Young drama enthusiast Annabel Mackinlay has confirmed her place at one of the world's leading drama schools with a full scholarship, of which only two were being offered. Annabel, who was performing in Truro School’s Edinburgh Festival Fringe show this time last year, will start at London’s Mountview Academy of Theatre and Arts in September.

Sneha Sen scored A*s across the board in French, German and maths making her one of 15 Truro School students to achieve straight A*/A grades. She said: “Everyone has been really helpful and supportive, it’s nice because the classes at A Level are quite small so you get a lot of pastoral support. I think it’s only just hitting me now that I’m leaving.” Sneha has been accepted in to the University of Cambridge and will be going on to study linguistics.

Oliver Dobbs achieving three A*s in economics, maths and his EPQ and two As in English and religious studies. He said: “I’m very happy, I came to Truro School just for the sixth form and my GCSE results weren’t brilliant. When I first came I was predicted A, B, B so this shows the transformation I’ve had here both as a person and academically.”

Oliver, who has planned to take a gap year studying for a month at Princeton University and spending some time in Oxford, has his sights set on Oxford University for 2017.

Phoebe Piercy, Truro School’s head girl, stunned teachers with an incredible six A*s in chemistry, geology, maths, further maths, physics and the Extended Project Qualification. She also scored top marks in geology, a result that has only ever been achieved once before in the examining board’s history.

She said: “It makes all the hard work worthwhile, having put so much time into revision. The teachers have put time aside whenever I needed extra revision sessions, they have been so supportive it’s been amazing.”

Phoebe will shortly be flying out to America to study at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the world’s number one ranked university. “I am crazy excited to go to America, to meet all the different people, it will be a lot more diverse," she said.