A SUCCESSFUL day for Oxford schools saw some buck the national trend to improve on last year's grades, with one stand-out pupil among the very best in the country.

St Gregory the Great Catholic School pupil Arthur Conmy did so well he was ranked amongst the nine best pupils in the country on his Level 2 further maths paper, out of about 19,000 entrants.

He also scored a further 12 A*s, achieving top 9 grades in English literature, English language and maths.

He said: “I worked quite hard but I never thought I was the hardest worker. There are people I think who worked harder than me.”

He will be moving to Cherwell School in September and wants to do maths at Cambridge University in two years’ time.

His friend William Godfrey achieved 12 A*s, also getting 9s in English literature, English language and maths. His grades were lower than Arthur’s simply because he got an A in astronomy.

Principal Marcella McCarthy said: “These results are great and are a real boost for the school.”

Overall, 189 pupils sat exams and 68 per cent attained a grade 4 and above in English. In maths, 56 per cent of pupils achieved grade 4 and higher.

At the Oxford Academy 120 pupils completed their GCSEs, with 65 per cent achieving a grade 4 or higher in English and 60 per cent scoring the same in maths.

Holly Cornish was one of the school’s top achievers and will be treated with a trip to the West End by her mum Claire Hennessy.

She scored a 7 in English and maths, along with an A in history and additional science.

Deputy headteacher Abi Banks said: “We are over the moon. It’s been a really challenging year because of the new English and maths GCSEs.

“With these challenges having positive progress and also having these results for English and maths shows just how hard pupils worked.”

At Cheney School, headteacher Jolie Kirby said: “We were feeling a little uncertain about what the results were going to look like because of the new system but we’re thoroughly pleased with the results.

“We made sure the students were as prepared as possible for these new, tougher exams by organising extra revision classes and getting as many teachers to work with the exam boards themselves so that they were on the inside.”

She added that the school was ‘especially pleased’ with the English results, with 80 per cent achieving level 4 or above, higher than previous years, and maths at 70 per cent.

Pupils at the Oxford Spires Academy also performed well. Of its 92 pupils sitting GCSEs, Grade 4 and above was achieved by 84 per cent in English, and 62 per cent achieved the same in maths.

Retiring headteacher Sue Croft said: “We are delighted with the successes achieved by students in this year group. The outstanding attainment will enable so many to have bright futures.”

Cherwell School head Chris Price said with ‘uncertainty’ over the new grades system, the school was delighted with its results.

In English, 89.4 per cent of pupils got a grade 4 and 85.7 per cent achieved the same in maths. Last year 78 per cent of students got at least a C in both.

He said: “We are very pleased that so many of our students have achieved extremely well.”