Last Thursday was the moment of truth for GCSE students throughout the country.
We were with Reigate and Banstead students as they found out their results. Here we look at the individual schools and some of the top pupils.The Beacon, Banstead
IT WAS a year of satisfying consolidation at The Beacon School, in Banstead, where levels achieved in a stellar rise in 2012 were maintained.
Head teacher Lisa Croke said: "We have held steady on last year, when we went up dramatically.
"In terms of their prior attainment, this was a slightly weaker cohort than the year before, but they have matched the number getting five A* to C grades, which is absolutely fantastic."
Overall pass rate of A* to C grades was 92 per cent.
Ms Croke highlighted some particularly successful departments.
All triple science pupils scored at least a C, with 89 per cent of business studies students, 86 per cent of music students, 65 per cent in English literature and 63 per cent in maths achieving that level.
Among those at the top of this year's results pile were Viktorija Pavlova, who notched up five A*s, three As and two Bs, and Katie Light, who recorded two A*s and six As among her results.
As she wiped her eyes, pupil Zoe Rackham said: "These are tears of joy.
"This morning was horrible. But I got one A three Bs and four Cs, it's better than I expected, I'm so happy."Dunottar School, Reigate
IT WAS a bright day for results despite the clouds as pupils at Dunottar School for Girls collected their GCSE results.
The girls achieved a 96 per cent pass rate with half of all grades being A*s and As.
On top of that, a quarter of students scored eight or more A*s or A grades. One of the top performers was Francesca Webb, a talented mathmetician who racked up 10 A*s and one A. The 16-year-old dropped only four of the 400 marks available in her maths exam.
She said: "I'm overjoyed to get these results today and it's such a relief after weeks and weeks of waiting. Now I have the piece of paper in my hand, I'm really looking forward to the news sinking in over the next day or two."
Head teacher Nikki Matthews said: "We are delighted for the girls that their hard work has paid off."
A SLIP in one GCSE measure didn't dampen celebrations for the 45 girls collecting their results at Greenacre School for Girls.
The percentage of girls at the Banstead school gaining A* and A grades increased to 39 per cent, although the school recorded a 12 per cent drop in the key benchmark of five A* to C grades including English and maths, with 84 per cent of girls achieving this compared to 96 per cent last year.
Headmistress Lindsay Redding said: "I am delighted with the achievements of all our Year 11 girls who have worked hard and achieved excellent results.
"Despite the increasingly rigorous standards encountered at GCSE, their application, together with first-class teaching and support from staff, has enabled them all to realise their potential."
Straight A student Francesca Morris got a clean sheet of ten A*s and an A in additional maths. Other star results came from Rima Price with five A*s, four As and one B; Jemma Instefjord with five A*s and four As; Katheryn Taylor with three A*s, four As and three Bs; Elle Jo Haverson with two A*s and eight As and Amy Levine and Olivia Melliard with two A*s and seven As.Oakwood School, Horley
STUDENTS at Oakwood School saw an increase in top-end results as they battled the changing grade boundaries.
A fifth of GCSE results at the Balcombe Road, Horley, school were the top A* and A grades – a five per cent increase on 2012.
But students could not build on last year's record figures of five A*-C grades not including English and maths.
The 77 per cent recorded last August was a massive jump for the school, but this year the figure fell to 73 per cent.
But head teacher Sue Child was pleased with the school's outcomes.
She said: "Building on recent years' successes, the average grade has improved for each student, showing Oakwood's students are bucking the national trend.
"All students and teachers should be congratulated on their hard work and also thanks to parents for their continued support."
The school was unable to supply a figure for five A*-C grades including English and maths, because Mrs Child said the figures were not available due to the re-marks.
Six students at the school had ten or more A* and A grades.
Tom Turner, 16, who got 6A*s and 4As said: "I am really pleased with my results.
"Some of it was really hard but if it's hard then it's more rewarding when you do well."
School governor Dave Brown commended the school on it's improvement.Reigate Grammar School, Reigate
STUDENTS at Reigate Grammar School kept up their 100 per cent pass rate at GCSE.
All 141 students secured 5 A*-C grades including English and maths, repeating last year's success. But the number of A* grades awarded jumped to 43 per cent from 36 per cent last year.
Three quarters of all grades awarded were A* or A, with 59 students achieving ten or more of the top two grades.
Head teacher Shaun Fenton said: "The future is bright for these wonderful young people who have worked so hard."
But the students did not just achieve in traditional subjects.
Mr Fenton added: "What today's headlines fail to communicate is all of the areas in which our students have thrived and achieved at RGS. Phenomenal academic results have been gained alongside a breathtaking array of nationally recognised drama, music and sporting achievements."Reigate School, Reigate
REIGATE School's hall was packed with students and emotion as this year's 16-year-olds learned their GCSE fate.
It was good news for many of them, and the school in general, as it recorded a slight increase in exam success, with 64 per cent of students attaining the all-important five GCSEs, including English and maths, up from 62 per cent last year.
Sophie Abraham's fear turned to joy when she opened her envelope to reveal no fewer than 11 A* grades.
Another top student was Alice Chandler, with a clean sweep of ten A* grades.
"Those were my predicted grades but I didn't really think I would get them," she said.
"I was so happy when I opened them, I screamed. We all screamed and hugged each other. It is amazing; it's so great all that hard work has paid off."
There were stories of triumph for others too.
Rebecca King, of Whitebushes, said a summer of stress had been made worth it after she secured the grades to go to East Surrey College and study hairdressing.
She said. "It has been a difficult few months but it's definitely all worth it now."
Thirteen students scored ten or more A* or A grades and 18 per cent sealed five results beginning with an A.
Head teacher Sue Wardlow said: "Our overall headline figure was quite good and there were some really good individual performances.
"Our English grades were down again after last year's problem with the English grades. They are still lots better than the national figure."
"We are very pleased."
THE celebrations started early at Royal Alexandra and Albert School, as pupils arrived at 8.30am to put months of angst and anticipation to rest.
Despite the changing grade boundaries which have seen the number of top-scoring pupils drop for the second straight year, nerves quickly turned to cheers of joy – and even the rain couldn't stop the students from running outside to celebrate.
Among the highest achievers was Kayan Patel, who earned seven A*s, two As and one B grade. He said: "I was quite confident until this morning and then the nerves kicked in."
Another pupil, Natasha Patel, turned up especially early and was one of the first to find out what her grades were. She walked away with an impressive four A*s, five As and one B.
"I'm very happy" she said, moments after collecting her results. "It's been the worst thing in the world waiting for today."
Headmaster Paul Spencer Ellis praised his pupils.
"This is the second year that GCSEs have been made harder, with English last year and English, maths and science this year," he said, "so I am particularly pleased that this year group has achieved the results we were predicting."St Bede's School, Redhill
SPIRITS were high at St Bede's School this year, as hundreds of pupils celebrated their GCSE results.
Head teacher Christopher Curtis said he was delighted with the school's haul of top grades, with 30 students achieving ten or more A* or A grades. This included Luke Glover, Joel O'Flaherty and Lydia Parker, who secured 11 A* grades each and Christopher Alden and Alexander Gerholt, who achieved 10 A*s each.
With the national picture showing a decline in top marks, St Bede's managed to buck the trend with 82.2 per cent of students earning five A*-C grades – up one per cent on last year – and 69.1 per cent achieving five A*-C marks, including English and maths, an increase of 2.5 per cent.
Mr Curtis said: "We are delighted with an excellent set of results. After the huge problems nationally with GCSE results last year, we were a little anxious and we are still concerned that the grade boundaries are being so controlled by the Government."
Ella Munn, who earned nine A* and two A grades, said: "I didn't think I'd done this well. I'm so surprised. I revised so much, so I'm really happy."
Emma Elson, who was awarded eight A* and two As and is now looking forward to starting at Reigate College, added: "I'm really glad. I was a bit nervous this morning but quietly confident as well."Warwick School, Redhill
IT WAS an especially exciting GCSE results day at The Warwick, as pupils celebrated achieving the school's best exam results ever. With the national figures showing a drop in top scores, students at the Redhill school beat all expectations with 51 per cent achieving five or more GCSE grades at A* to C, compared with 47 per cent last year. Among the highest flyers was Victoria Steggles, who bagged herself nine A* grades and two As. Josie Rogers was also celebrating after achieving eight A* marks and four As.
Pupils braved the bad weather on Thursday last week to pick up their results.
"I don't know why I worried so much," said Ellie Chandler. "I've been so nervous; I thought I was going to throw up this morning."
Beth McFarlane, who celebrated a personal haul of two A*s and three B grades, said: "I'm just so glad the hard work paid off."
Head teacher Roger Searle said: "We are delighted to report The Warwick School's best ever examination results. With the percentage of students gaining five or more good passes at GCSE or equivalent increasing again this year, our students and staff must be congratulated for their hard work."Meet some of the top studentsReuel Mohammed - Beacon School
"AWESOME".
That was how Reuel Mohammed from Tadworth assessed his results after he learned he had scooped the best GCSE grades at The Beacon School in Banstead this year.
"I put a lot into this and I've waited all summer to find out," he said.
That work resulted in seven A*s, one A and two Bs.
"I am really happy I got A* in all the science subjects because that's what I want to go on and do.
"I am a bit shell-shocked."Samantha Walker, Jed Newton and Ninette Iheke - Oakwood School
A TRIO of students were basking in the glory of outstanding results at Oakwood School.
Top student Samantha Walker, who strolled away with 11 A*s and 2 As, could not contain her excitement when she opened her envelope.
"I might have jumped a bit," she said.
"I was pretty nervous at first. I was thinking I might get a couple of Bs and Cs, I didn't expect to do this well.
"I struggled with graphic design because I am not the world's greatest drawer, so getting a good grade in that surprised me most."
Jed Newton, who achieved 8 A*s and 5 As, admitted he was stunned to see how well he had done in his sciences.
"I didn't expect to do so well," the 16-year-old told the Mirror.
"I wasn't expecting an A in physics or biology so I am really surprised."
But despite his success he thinks the exams are still a tough test for pupils.
"I don't think they are getting easier," he laughed. "The teachers might disagree."
Fellow student Ninette Iheke, 16, racked up 14 A*s and As, but said the sheer volume of literature to cover for English nearly stumped her.
"We had the shortest time to learn all of it because there is a lot to do," she said.
"I think the exams are getting harder, it's been hard work."
All three of them are going on to Reigate College.Emma Findlater and Lucy Findlater - Reigate Grammar School
TWIN sisters Emma and Lucy Findlater broke school records by each achieving 11 A*s along with an A in advanced level maths.
The Reigate Grammar students became the school's most successful duo surpassing James and Edward Buchanan who each gained 11 A*s in 2008.
Lucy said: "The build-up to today has been a bit scary but we've managed to distract ourselves and not worry too much.
"I think having each other helped because we'd test each other when we were revising and go over topics together. That said, there was also quite a bit of competition between us."
Emma added: "We were a bit competitive but in a good way.
"We're going to celebrate with friends and family now."
The duo are doing A-level maths, further maths, biology and chemistry, but Lucy is also doing Spanish for some variation.Christopher Alden and Lydia Parker - St Bede's
THE poor weather failed to cast a shadow on GCSE results day at St Bede's school in Redhill, especially for two pupils in particular.
Christopher Alden and Lydia Parker were celebrating just a little bit more than their class mates after tallying an impressive 22 A* grades between them.
Christopher, who earned 10 top grades, said it had been a tough slog but he would do it all again if he had to.
"It was a lot of hard work and I just tried to put as much as I could into everything I did," said the pupil who is now deciding where to study his A-levels. "I'm definitely feeling happy now. It's been really difficult but I'm just so glad the work has paid off. I haven't decided where to study yet but I'm probably going to do four A-levels and then go to university."
