PUPILS from Skipton Girls' High provided a fitting end to headteacher Diana Chambers' 15-year reign with the school's best ever A-level results.

Twenty-seven pupils earned full A-grades, including Emily Stirk, who was the school's first pupil to achieve six As.

Fourteen received three As, there were seven with four As and five with five As. The school was still awaiting psychology results when the Herald went to press.

Other notable successes included Sally Bullock and Anna Jagan, whose chemistry results placed them both in the top five in the country out of 11,000 entries.

TWO thirds of the A-level papers taken by pupils at Ermysted's School, Skipton, were awarded either A or B grades.

Head teacher Tom Ashworth said he was pleased with the results. In total 16 pupils earned straight As in either four or five subjects. Only three students failed a subject, all general studies.

The majority of the pupils had enough marks to send them to the universities of their choice and it is expected that four will go to either Oxford or Cambridg0e.

AT South Craven 98 students taking exams turned in a pass rate of 96.4 per cent, higher than the national average and the best in the school's history.

Head teacher Andrew Cummings said with its "open" sixth form policy (accepting pupils on to post-16 courses with no GCSEs at grade C or above) the school generally did not expect to match the national average. However, hard-working students had produced outstanding results.

He said times had changed, with more courses on offer, better guidance and AS levels to give pupils an indication of how well they were doing.

GIGGLESWICK was also celebrating its best ever year.

Headmaster Geoffrey Boult said: "Many excellent individual performances made this a good set of A level results for Giggleswick, with the overwhelming majority of students getting into their first or second choice University.

"The overall pass rate was just under 98 per cent, the highest in the school's history.