A BOY celebrating a not-so-unlucky 13 A*s and a South Wales Argus papergirl were among the students receiving top grades in Torfaen yesterday.

They were among the top performers at Ysgol Gyfun Gwnllyw Welsh-medium school in Pontypool, where almost 73 percent of pupils gained five A* to C grades - a slight rise on last year’s passrate.

Chris Williamson, 16, gained 13 A*s, while Carys Puw, 16, who delivers the Argus in Maindee, Newport, got five A*s and seven As.

At Abersychan School, Newport Gwent Dragons under-18s player, Ethan Davies, 16, celebrated passing 12 GCSEs - including gaining an A* in PE, which he will now study at A level at Coleg Gwent in Crosskeys.

At West Monmouth School in Pontypool John Godwin, 16, from New Inn and Cariad Thomas, 16, from Pontypool achieved the highest grades in the school, with a mixture of As and A*s.

At Llantarnam School, Vicky Binnie, 16, gained A* grades in maths and German, four As and three Bs.

Headteacher of St Alban's RC High School in Pontypool, Mike Coady, said: "We've had fantastic results which add to the A level results we had last week."

Across Torfaen, the percentage of A* to C grades rose by 2.4 percent from 58 percent last year to 60.4 percent.