GIGGLESWICK School is celebrating GCSE success with students achieving more than double the national average of top three grades, despite concerns over the new tougher number grading system, says the independent school.

Many students achieved over and above their predicted grades across a wide range of subjects, it says.

Sophie Hume achieved grade nines for all her 11 subjects, placing her among the best performing students in the country.

Sophie, from Clitheroe, who will now study A levels at Giggleswick, said: “I’ve achieved so much more than I expected. I have always been very self-motivated and wanted to prove to myself that I could do well if I worked hard, and the teachers have encouraged and supported me every step of the way. Giggleswick has definitely helped me realise my potential.”

Among concerns that not enough young people are learning foreign languages, Sophie was encouraged to follow her passion for linguistics, studying not just French, Spanish and German at GCSE but also signing up for the Latin enrichment club to achieve the top grade in all four languages.

She also found the time to learn Italian alongside her studies.

Giggleswick’s musicians were also top performers, says the school, with 75 per cent achieving the higher grades of seven to nine, or the old style A * and A grades.

And, the school adds science, which it says has always been an area of particular strength, has this year brought more GCSE success with 81 per cent achieving grades seven to nine in chemistry and a 100 per cent pass rate across all sciences. There was also a clean sweep of 100 per cent passes in art, biology, computing, Latin, music and further maths.

Headmaster Mark Turnbull said: “Just as we saw in our A level results last week, it is wonderful to see our GCSE students adding significant value to their grade projections through their hard work, support of their teachers and embracing all the opportunities available to them at school.”