Sam Priestley is one of the brainiest students in the country after notching up an amazing top 12 A-star grades.

The 16-year-old pupil at Parkside School, Cullingworth, had to check his stunning GSCE results several times before the good news sank in.

The teenager was expecting some As and Bs but nothing as good as straight A*s across the board.

"I didn't think my science subjects had gone that well so I was in a state of shock when I saw the results.

"I did have to stare at them to make sure I was seeing right," he said. He now has his sights set on A-levels in the school's sixth form and will be studying history, English, maths and French.

Then, university - hopefully Oxford or Cambridge - to study law.

He puts his success down to hard revision but only in the short term.

"Any longer and I'd forget it all," he said.

"It was pretty concentrated but only in the few weeks before the exams."

Away from his books he supports Bradford Bulls and Burnley FC and plays badminton for Bradford and for Yorkshire.

"I wouldn't say I was swotty. I do my homework on time and that's it.

"But I play football and like sports.

''Out of school I am quite normal," he laughed.

His scored top marks in design technology, French, history, maths, art, music, English lit, English language, two sciences and information technology.

A spokeswoman for the Department for Education said Sam's results could not be compared with the rest of the country as the full data was not yet known.

One girl from Kent is believed to have notched up the best results with 13 A-star GCSEs.

But the department spokeswoman said: "It is a great achievement."

Head teacher Tony Rickwood said: "We have pupils achieving ten and 12 A*s but we also have those achieving their first grades at GCSE."

The school was a new secondary set up as part of the Bradford schools reorganisation, which saw the district swap from the three-tier first, middle and upper schools to primary and secondary.

Mr Rickwood added: "Our motto of excellence for all means all students will achieve and that is certainly the case with our results and they will get better and better."