Hundreds of teenagers celebrated their A level results today although the joy was tempered with disappointment as many are expected to miss out on university places.
A record number of applications to study at university has been attributed to the rise in tuition fees next year.
But pupils, parents and teachers were also delighted at some fantastic achievements regardless of what the immediate future holds.
One pupil at Brighton, Hove and Sussex VI Form College (BHASVIC), Andrea Chlebikova, achieved 7 A* grades.
BHASVIC and Varndean College, the two sixth form colleges in Brighton and Hove, both reported excellent results.
The pass rate at BHASVIC – where 800 sat the exams – was 98 per cent with 59 per cent of students achieving A*, A and B grades.
Twenty four students gained the grades they needed to take up offers of places at Oxford or Cambridge University.
At Varndean College the pass rate was 97.3 per cent with 52 per cent of students achieving A*, A and B grades.
Varndean said that International Baccalaureate Diploma students achieved the best results of any British college and were in the top two in the whole state sector this year.
Two IB pupils have won places at medical school with Lottie Corr due to go to King’s College London and Libby Beckett to Bristol University.
Six sets of twins were among the dozens of pupils at Brighton College celebrating their results today where 75.9 per cent achieved A* or A grades.
One pair of twins, Peemdej Utsahajit and his brother Peemtat, 17, gained four A* grades each and a place at Oxford in one case and Cambridge in the other.
And Priya and Rekha Rogers, 18, from Hove, each achieved one A* and three A grades.
Priya is going to King’s College London to study medicine and her sister Rekha is off to Oxford to study law.
Brighton College head master Richard Cairns said: “These are the best A-level results ever achieved by a co-educational school in England.
“The college’s previous best was 72.8 per cent in 2010.”
Sixty five per cent of pupils achieved at least one A*.
Mr Cairns said: “The college is a very happy place today and I am so delighted to see so many boys and girls realising their own particular dreams – whether that be three B grades or five A* grades.
“Each achievement is individual, personal and equally special.”
Average grades improved in the four schools with sixth forms in Hove and Portslade.
Provisional scores at Hove Park, Blatchington Mill and Portslade Community College show an improvement equal to about half a grade.
Cardinal Newman maintained the high average scores that it recorded last year.
Forty seven per cent of the grades at Cardinal Newman were A*, A or B and four students are going on to study at Oxford or Cambridge.
Roedean students achieved a 100 per cent pass rate again with just over half the grades an A* or A.
Councillor Sue Shanks, the Brighton and Hove City Council cabinet member for children and young people, said: “Students and staff in our schools and colleges have worked hard to achieve these excellent results.
“The colleges’ results should confirm that they continue to be among the highest achieving sixth form colleges in England.
“I am particularly pleased to see the strong improvements in the school sixth form results.
“Our schools and colleges are committed to working together to improve still further, and along with City College’s recent excellent Ofsted report, these are exciting times for 16-18 education and training in the city.”
Mike Weatherley, the MP for Hove, said: “The impressive results today highlight the hard work and dedication that both students and teachers have made over the past two years.”
