A summer of wishing and waiting to see if they had made the grade came to an end today for thousands of teenagers anxiously awaiting their GCSE results.

Schools and colleges across the county saw students on their doorsteps from the early hours eager to tear open the envelopes containing their marks.

At Oxford's Cheney School in Cheney Lane, Headington, celebrations were under way as the school saw its best results ever with 56 per cent of students gaining five A* to C grades and 30 students achieving seven or more A* or A grades.

Top of the class were Hannah Sparrowhawk and Heather Wild, who both earned themselves nine A* grades and one A. Also achieving strings of A* and A grades were Johnnie Gray, Danielle Beechey, Alice Stott, Julia Peto and Kate Westbrook.

Headteacher Jolie Kirby said she was "absolutely delighted" with the results, saying: "These marks are a testimony to the hard work of the Year 11 students and an indication of the dedicated and committed teachers and parents."

At Matthew Arnold School, in Botley, 71 per cent of students gained five or more A* to C grades which headteacher Katherine Ryan said she was delighted with. The overall pass rate was 99 per cent.

At Wheatley Park School, in Holton, near Wheatley, 57 per cent of pupils achieved five grades A* to C, which pleased headteacher Kate Curtis.

She said: "These are Wheatley Park's best results for six years and we are proud to see every young person achieving good results. We congratulate our staff and students on their achievements."

Student Anna Clements, 16, of Wheatley, said her results - eight A*s and one A - "had not sunk in yet".

She said: "I was terrified before picking up my results, I was actually shaking, but it's great to have done so well."

After a record-breaking set of results last week at A Level, GCSE students at Bartholomew School in Eynsham, continued the trend with 77 per cent achieving five or more A* to C grades. Among the high achievers were Bethan Dalton, Elizabeth Hope and Isobel Pellow who all achieved 12 A* and A grades.

Headteacher Andrew Hamilton said the results were "truly a testament to the commitment and hard work of students and staff".

At Magdalen College School in Oxford, there was cause for celebration with 10 boys achieving 10 or more A*s or As. Top of the class was Philip Davies, who achieved 11 A*s and a A grade in AS Level French.

French teacher Veronique Halls, wife of master Andrew Halls, was particularly delighted with her 20-strong class, 18 of whom all achieved top candidate awards, meaning they scored 95 per cent or higher in their papers.

At Abingdon School there was a record number of boys achieving A*s with Timothy Deeks taking the title of high flier. He earned 11 A*s plus an A at AS Level while Mark Heffernan gained 10 A*s as did Fergus McIntosh, who also achieved an A at AS Level.

Headteacher Mark Turner said: "We have seen an excellent set of record results matching our record A level results last week. Over three-quarters of the grades achieved are A* and As and the proportion of boys attaining 10 or more A grades stands at more than 30 per cent."

At Headington School, headteacher Anne Coutts said her pupils had "lived up to the high standards set by last week's A Level results". A total of 38 girls gained straight A*s or As.

She said: "The best thing about these results is they provide our girls with a strong springboard for the future."

At Oxford High School, deputy head Peter Secker was delighted to see 100 per cent of pupils achieve five A* to C grades and almost 93 per cent of results were at A* or A grade, which he said was a "tremendous accomplishment".