Some students in Sittingbourne were literally jumping for joy after receiving their A-level results this morning.

Hundreds of youngsters from Westlands, Fulston Manor, Borden, Highsted, and Sittingbourne Community College, had anxiously gathered at their schools to learn their grades.

But many were left celebrating the chance to take up offers at some of the country's top universities.

Westlands School says its students achieved "exceptional" Sixth Form results.

A total of 88 students completed A-level and level 3 vocational courses across 26 different subjects.

Of these, 86 students achieved at least one C grade, with many going on to achieve A, A* and Distinction* grades.

The school said results compared favourably to last year, and was particularly happy that students gained more A* grades, achieving this mark for the first time in both mathematics and English literature.

It said youngsters also continued to achieve outstanding results in their BTEC vocational courses, with 139 of the 168 entries being graded at either distinction or distinction*.

This percentage of 83% is up from 79% last year.

Of the 267 entries completed by students overall, 233 grades secured were a C grade or higher, with 172 results being at least a B grade.

In Finance for example all students achieved at least a C grade, with 73% exceeding their target grade by at least one level. BTEC subjects such as applied science, engineering and sport also secured 100% Distinction and Distinction*outcomes.

Students worthy of particular mention include national ice hockey players Haydn and Taylor Wootton who secured A*s in mathematics and Distinction*s in sport, alongside their gruelling training programme.

They will be continuing their studies, with a view to doing further maths and physics in the hope of gaining a place at a university in 2017 to further pursue aeronautical engineering.

Head teacher Simon Cox said: "The greatest satisfaction of being a secondary school teacher is helping children through their difficult teenage years to a point where they leave as young adults with a collection of top class qualifications.
"The class of 2016 should be rightly proud of their achievements and I am delighted that Westlands School continues to enable students to do well in a wide range of subjects.

"Our excellent results at A/S level suggest that our Sixth Form partnership with Sittingbourne Community College, known as Swale Sixth Form, will only enhance 16-19 provision in Sittingbourne."

Borden Grammar School also posted positive results.

Year 13 students achieved the school’s best A-level for four years with 44% awarded grades at A*, A, or B - an increase of almost 10% on last year.

The school said the figures reflected the hard work and dedication of both students and staff throughout the year.

Top scholars at Borden were: Joseph Stevens with A*AAAA; William Hutson with AAAA; Zack Taylor with AAAAB and Jack Hutton who gained A*AAAB.

In addition to this a number of students achieved three or more A grades in their results, they were: Adam Argent, Ben King and Jake Lee.

Chris Brinn, assistant head teacher, said: "Many of Borden’s students will now head to Russell Group universities as well as a number of other higher education institutions across the country, whilst others have secured excellent training placements at companies such as Price Waterhouse Cooper and UBS Financial."

Head teacher Jonathan Hopkins added: "Our sixth form students have been excellent role models to the student body and fully deserve their success as a group and as individuals, they have very bright futures ahead of them."

Last year Sittingbourne Community College students achieved a 100% pass rate at Level 3 and managed to maintain that this year.

A record number of students obtained A*- B grades at A Level this year, which the school said reflected its relentless drive to ensure our students achieve their potential.

All students were successful in achieving a place at the university of their choice, with many students following increasingly diverse career paths.

These include Rhys Tatton who has won a place at the University of Brighton to study accounting and finance, Ayden Tahmazova to London Metropolitan University to study interior design, Ayla Hunnisett has accepted an offer at the University of Surrey to study psychology, and Steven Walker will study physical geography at Edge Hill University.

Swale Sixth Form principal Jackie Noble said: "We are particularly pleased with students’ success at AS and A2 level this year.

"Our A Level provision has expanded rapidly since the formation of Swale Sixth Form in September 2015.

"Results in vocational and applied subjects have always been exceptionally strong within our sixth form; the sustained improvements at A-level mean that we are now well placed to offer a wide range of academic and vocational courses to suit the needs of all learners.

"We are incredibly proud of them and know that their success will inspire our new students as they begin their journey.

Highsted Grammar School achieved an overall A-level pass rate 100%.

The number of A*/A grades was 31% (up 11% from last year), A*/B grades was 66% (up 10%), and 63% of students achieved at least 1 A* or A grade (up 2%).

The average point score for its students was the equivalent of 3 A* grades.

Assistant head teacher, Daniel Quinn, said: "We have once again achieved 100% A-level pass rate.

"We are delighted that 97% of our students have secured their offer of a university place to commence study in September.

"Our students work extremely hard to produce these excellent results and we are very proud of all that they have achieved. They are a credit to themselves and the school.

"We would like to commend the dedication and talent of the teaching staff who, together with the families of our students, have provided much support during their time at the school."

Mr Quinn added several students achieved an A* recognition in at least one A-Level out of their programme, but of particular mention are students Holly Boorman who achieved 4 A* grades, Amber Moys, Bethany Evans and Charlotte Johnson who achieved 3 A* grades, and Lydia Banyard and Poppy Beer who achieved 2 A* grades as part of their results.

More than 70 students at Fulston Manor School achieved A-level results good enough to allow them to go on to universities of their choice.

Staff said there was also a sharp increase in the top ones accepting them, including Nottingham, (chemistry and French/history), Surrey, (criminology), UAE, (English literature and social history), Queen Mary’s London, (English and history), Warwick (history) and Exeter (biochemistry).

A total of 123 students sat full A-level exams, covering a total of 30 subjects, with 110 achieving A* to C grades, a 5% increase on last year.

Head teacher Alan Brookes was delighted with the results, saying: "It is wonderful to see so many students from the school progressing on to higher education and is testament to the hard work of all those involved.

"Even though 2016 has proved to be the best ever in terms of university places gained, we are confident that with the recent opening of the new sixth form centre and the continuing development of post 16 programmes of study even this level of performance can be exceeded in the future."

* For a full list of results get next week's Sittingbourne News Extra.