MONMOUTHSHIRE are celebrating a record breaking set of A-level results with the county’s pass rate rising by nearly four per cent.

Across Monmouthshire there has been a further increase in the number of students achieving the level 3 threshold (of two A levels grades A-E) to 99 per cent, an increase of 1.3 per cent from last year.

In three of the county’s four secondary schools the level 3 threshold was achieved by 100 per cent of students. The percentage of students achieving 2A*-C grades is the best on record at 73 per cent.

There has also been a rise in the percentage of students achieving A* to B grades for the fourth consecutive year.

Caldicot School pupils Ewan Davies and Jake Franklin achieved three A*s each in mathematics, further mathematics and physics and both will go on to study mathematics at Oxford and Warwick respectively.

The school saw a huge leap in its pass rate – rising by 8.4 per cent to 98.9 per cent.

Simon Rees, deputy head teacher of Caldicot School, said: “This set of results is the culmination of a determined effort by students, staff and parents, and is a reward for two years of hard work.”

Chepstow School achieved 99 per cent A*-E grades, with 36 per cent achieving A*-A grades and a further 61 per cent attaining BTEC qualifications at grades D and D*.

Head student Merrick Stanley achieved 2 A*’s and an A to seal his place at Bath University to study Aerospace Engineering.

Melanie Thomas, head of sixth form at Chepstow, praised pupils for ‘once again producing superb results’.

Elsewhere, Abergavenny’s King Henry VIII Comprehensive School maintained its high pass rate of 99 per cent and this year the level of A*- A grades increased by 20 per cent to 34 per cent.

Monmouth Comprehensive recorded a record pass rate of 100 per cent from 96 per cent last year and 30 per cent of its students achieved the highest A*-A grades.

Monmouth School enjoyed its best set of results in four years, with 50.2 per cent A* - A grades and three quarters of all grades A* - B. Three boys, Freddie Parker, Dan Smith and Sam White all achieved four A*s.

At Haberdashers' Monmouth School for Girls, (HMSG) 56.9 per cent of grades were A* or A and the pass rate was 100 per cent with 82.4 per cent of grades A* to B.

One girl from HMSG, Stephanie Wai, was awarded five A*s and secured her offer to read engineering at Cambridge. Pippa England, who has rowed for GB, achieved A* and two A and is off to study bio chemistry at Imperial College London.

Monmouth School’s head boy, Sam White, will take up his place to study maths at Oxford after achieving a remarkable four A*s and 100 per cent in his physics paper.

He said: “I was genuinely surprised and relieved when I opened UCAS to see my offer was confirmed.”

In Torfaen 98.5 per cent of pupils gained A*- E A-level grades, compared to 98.1 per cent last year.

The percentage of pupils gaining A*/A grades decreased slightly to 20.6 per cent from 21 per cent last year which is below the Wales average of 22.7 per cent.

Students from Croesyceiliog School celebrated their outstanding results with 34 percent of qualifications being A* or A grades. Around 83 per cent of students achieved A* to C grades with 98 per cent of students gaining at least two A levels at grades A* to C.

Around 18 students achieved at least three A* to A grades, or equivalent in their subjects.

Lloyd David Schanzer, will study at Cardiff Medical School after receiving three A*s and an A grade while Sam Cadwell will study at Exeter University with the same grades.

A school spokeswoman also said she was “delighted with the performance of many of our Year 12 students”, including several students who successfully completed A level mathematics in one year.

For the pupils of Cwmbran High, the day was equally special as it was the first A-level results day since the school merged pupils Fairwater High and Llantarnam School in 2015.

Head teacher Helen Coulson said: "It’s been a challenging year for our pupils; joining together in a new school, however, they have done exceptionally well and we are very proud of them."

All pupils achieved the level 3 threshold with 45 per cent of qualifications achieved being A*/A/distinction level.

Current head boy and aspiring photographer, Geraint Roberts, 18 who received the grades ACDC, will travel to Falmouth University in Cornwall to study marine and natural history photography.

He said: “Everyone here has got into their first choice university it’s a massive improvement on Llantarnam High School. It was a privilege to be the first head boy here.”

Ysgol Gyfun Gwynllyw in Pontypool celebrated A-level success as 98.6 per cent of pupils gained grades A*-E. The percentage of pupils who achieved A* - C was 81.6 per cent and those who gained A*-A was 29 per cent.

The school's best results at A-Level included: Isaac Mackay, of Beaufort, Blaenau Gwent, who gained an A* in maths, A* in further maths, A in physics and Beth Jones, of Newport, A* economics, A maths and A in history.

Ellis Griffiths, headteacher of Ysgol Gyfun Gwynllyw, said: “Very warmest congratulations to each and every one of you. We look forward to hearing of the successes yet to come in you lives, and best wishes for the future.”

St Alban's RC High School in Pontypool have achieved a pass rate (A* to E) of 97 per cent.

Mike Coady, headteacher, said: "We are very pleased with the results. We have been particularly strong in Maths, English, and Modern languages."

More than two hundred students collected their A-level results at Coleg Gwent’s Crosskeys campus from 18 years-olds to mature students. Excellent results were achieved by the 282 students with an overall pass rate of 99.17 per cent.

The pass rate for grades A*-C was 74.13 per cent, an increase of 5.2 per cent from 2015.

Rachel Arnold, 27, from Cwmbran, was ‘delighted’ with her results of an A*, A and a B after going back to college to study biology, chemistry and psychology as she pursues a career as a dental hygienist and therapist.

She said: “I gave up my job to come back as a mature student and it’s been really hard so I will definitely be going out tonight to celebrate.”

It was a full house for twenty-five subject areas achieving a 100 per cent pass rate.

Bethan Phillips, 18, from Blackwood, is going to study law at Bristol University after achieving an A* in law and two A grades in politics and Welsh.

She said: “I have achieved my predicted grades but I didn’t expect them after my politics exam, so I’m delighted.”

The pass rate was 97 per cent in Caerphilly which is consistent with the provisional result from 2015.

The result for A-level grades A*-A was 16.6 per cent, an increase of over 1 per cent compared to 2015, and 69.8 per cent of grades were at C or above, again seeing a slight increase compared to the provisional result from 2015.

Elsewhere, Cwmcarn High School saw all of their Year 13 pupils get into their prospective universities.

Helen Breen, head of sixth form, said: “I’m really pleased with the results which have been absolutely brilliant."