St Ambrose College GCSE students achieved the Hale Barns’ Catholic grammar school’s best ever progress figures, the Government’s new preferred indices for school attainment.

There was a 98 A * to C pass rate with a stunning 22 young men gaining 10 straight A* or A grades, with the year group achieving significantly beyond expectations in this summer’s examinations, in comparison with Key Stage Two assessments.

St Ambrose College principal James Keulemans said: “We are absolutely delighted with this set of outstanding results.

“I am particularly delighted with our value added element which proves that with attention to detail, the development of good working habits and a culture which instils a sheer love of learning, young people can exceed their expectations and have no limits on their future.”

Pictured after opening their results envelopes are some of the straight A* / A grade students:

Pictured on the back row are Joseph Hewitt, 16, from Cheadle Hulme, who got four A*s and seven A grades; Alex Green, 16, from Warrington, who nine A*s, one A and A hat in the Further Maths paper; Gabriel McDermott, 16, from Cheadle Hulme, who got eight A*s and three As; Raahim Sarwar, 16, from Timperley, who got six A*s and five A grades; Kenny Lau, 16, from Burnage, who seven A*s and four As; Dominic Cooper, 16, from Sale, who got six A*s and four As; Edward England, 16, from Warrington, who got seven A*s, three As and an A hat; Joseph May, 16, from Timperley, who got two A*s and nine As; Ryan Nadeem, 16, from Sale, who got three A*s and seven As; Dominic Hensman, 16, from Sale, who got six A*s and five As and Jack O’Donnell, 16, from Knutsford, who got six A*s and five As.

On the front row are: Felix Blake, 16, from Appleton, who got seven A*s and four As; Adam Gibbons, 16, from Warrington, who got six A*s and five As; Sean Gallagher-Gill, 16, from Gatley, who got eight A*s, two As and an A hat; Matthew Booth, 16, from Hale, who got seven A*s and four As; Daniel Hetherington, 16, from Timperley, who got a straight flush of 10 A*s and an A hat; Liam Devlin, 16, from Bramhall, who got nine A*s, an A grade and an A hat; Ciaran Booth, 16, from Cheadle, who got eight A*s and three As and Daniel Gordon, 16, from Hale Barns, who got two A*s and nine As.