For Lacey Hill, one result mattered more than all the rest – because it was one she had never managed before.

“I passed maths, which I’ve never done before,” she said, after finally securing her GCSE pass.

Lacey was not the only Woolmer Hill pupil to find results day far better than expected, with the school celebrating its best-ever GCSE attainment figures.

An average grade of 6 was achieved across the Year 11 cohort, with 90 per cent of students securing Grade 4 or above and 80 per cent achieving Grade 5 or above.

Almost half – 43 per cent – of all grades were at Grade 7 to 9 level, with overall attainment placing Woolmer Hill in the top seven per cent of schools nationally.

For students such as Lacey and Georgia Lamb, the results were particularly satisfying after a difficult year of mocks and revision.

Georgia said she had achieved significantly better results than she had expected after her mock exams, going up several grades across her subjects.

Lacey said the Year 11 mocks had been a turning point.

“After we didn’t do as well in the Year 11 mocks as we’d hoped, it motivated us to work a lot harder,” she said.

For Callum Yapp, the results were a huge relief after he worried his mock grades might prevent him from reaching his ambitions.

He came away with mostly Grade 8s and 9s and will study computer science, maths and law at Godalming College.

“There were a few grades low in the mocks and I was worried I wouldn’t get where I could get to,” he said.

Instead, Callum put in the work, revising most days – and was rewarded when the results finally arrived.

Felix Cowan was also celebrating and will study physics, geography, maths and further maths at college, with his sights set on a career in engineering.

Stanley Gates was another high achiever, collecting three Grade 9s, four Grade 8s and a mix of 7s and 6s.

He will study geography, English literature, maths, economics and politics at Godalming College.

Headteacher Clare Talbot said the results showed what could be achieved through hard work and commitment.

“We are delighted that the hard work and commitment of our students has paid off. Once again, our results are truly exceptional,” she said.

“Our outgoing Year 11s have been an incredible group of young people to work with, and they have smashed all attainment records.”

There are no national progress measures this year because the cohort did not sit their Key Stage 2 SATs during the Covid pandemic, but the school’s own measures show exceptional progress from Year 7 to Year 11.

Ms Talbot added: “Our outgoing Year 11s have been an incredible group of young people to work with, and they have smashed all attainment records. We will miss them but wish them all the very best of luck as they move onto the next stage in their education”