FELIXSTOWE: Whoops of delight and lots of big hugs showed how thrilled Felixstowe students were with their GCSE results.

After weeks of waiting, there was a mixture of joy and relief with many declaring they will be staying on at Felixstowe Sixth Form, which has already had a record 120 applications from the Deben High site alone, with others to be added from Orwell High.

Executive headteacher of both schools, Rob Cawley said he was “absolutely thrilled” with the results.

Orwell High had its best ever GCSEs with 65 per cent of students achieving five or more A* to C grades and 50pc achieving five or more with maths and English, twice last year’s figure.

At Deben High, the number achieving five or more A*-C was 54pc, a six pc rise on last year, continuing the upward trend over the past four years.

Speaking about Orwell, Mr Cawley said: “To say I am thrilled with the results would be an understatement.

“It is a great testament to the dedication of students and staff at Orwell High who have shown they can achieve the highest results in the school’s history despite an incredibly difficult year.”

Head of school Pat Doyle said: “We very much look forward to the new term and moving forward to build further on what has been a very successful year for our students.”

Top student was Jake Coupe, 16, who got nine A* and A grades but is now moving on to Farlingaye Sixth Form for A-levels in history, literature, French and maths.

“I am very pleased I met my targets – my base line was to get As, and A* was my aspiration. It was a lot of hard work and meant staying in a lot!” he said.

Mr Cawley said Deben’s results were an “exceptional result – we continue our year-on-year improvement and continue to aim to be an outstanding school”.

Harriet Avery and Pippa Cowburn both got nine A* and A grades, Aimee Darke eight A*/A, and Francesca Peck 13 GCSEs from A* to C.

Kathryn Thorogood, 16, who got As and Bs and would like a career in fashion, said: "I am really happy – I did much better than I expected. I have now got to sit down and consider my options and whether to stay in Felixstowe or go to Farlingaye."

? At independent Amberfield School at Nacton pupils had plenty to celebrate.

Headmistress Linda Ingram said: “I am delighted that our overall pass rate at grades A* - C has remained at 91pc but this headline figure does not truly represent the range of abilities of our pupils.

“We are as thrilled with our pupil who gained 11 A*’s as with another who managed five passes. For the latter, the achievement was probably the greater.”