PUPILS across Greater Manchester have celebrated GCSE success as many schools scored their best ever results.
Nationally, A*-C grade pass rates were up by 0.5 per cent to a record 57.1 per cent, building on annual increases of the past decade.
Girls continue to outperform boys but there are signs that the gap is narrowing in the middle grades. Manchester's deputy chief education officer Marilyn Eccles said: ''Early indications suggest that the improvements in Manchester will be above the national average.
''We are delighted that students in Manchester high schools are continuing to rise. This is down to the hard work of pupils and staff.''
School standards minister Stephen Timms said: ''This year's results are excellent and show that the GCSE continues to retain its value, particularly as a progress check.
''Better grades are a result of pupils working harder and a reflection of the first class support they receive from teachers.''
At independent Withington Girls' School, a stunning 94 per cent of all GCSEs passes were A* or A grades, giving the school its best ever results.
Record passes
Boys at Manchester Grammar School proved that they too had plenty to shout about. Pass rates at the independent school were the highest on record, with all boys passing five or more A*-C grade and 85.3 per cent of all exams being awarded A* or A grades.
High Master Dr Martin Stephen said: ''These are staggering results and prove that boys can do it.'' In the state sector, King David High School, in Crumpsall, is again expected to be the city's top performer, with 98.8 per cent of youngsters gaining five or more A*-C grades.
Governors' chairman Joshua Rowe said the school's academic performance was all the more astounding, considering that eight years ago results were so poor that the school was threatened with closure. In Stockport, pupils at St James' RC High School, Cheadle Hulme, were celebrating record success, with 64 per cent gaining five or more A*-C grades.
Seventy-four per cent of girls but only 52 per cent of the boys met the benchmark number of passes.
Nationally, the proportion of girls being awarded top A* and A grades was 5.3 per cent higher than boys, in line with last year's results. But boys narrowed the gap by 0.3 per cent when it came to the proportion of those achieving A*-C grades, with girls just 8.9 per cent above their male classmates.
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