NOT many students were more pleased with their GCSE results than Harry Hall from Braunton School and Community College who was promised £60 for every A*.

He got nine!

Harry, 16, who has secured a scholarship to study at Eton, said: "I was promised £60 for every one from my parents so I am over-the-moon. I am going to be quite rich after these results. I am not sure what I want to do but maybe something in medicine or science, perhaps in medical research."

His friend Jake Steebings, 16, was delighted after getting one A*, two As, three Bs and two Cs.

Jake, who works at the Queen's Theatre in Barnstaple, plans to study production art at Petroc. He said: "I am very happy with my grades and was surprised by the result."

Nearly 70 per cent of the Year 11 students at Braunton achieved the benchmark of five grades between A* and C.

A total of 54 per cent of pupils earned five grades between A* and C including English and maths.

David Sharratt, Braunton School principal said: "Exams are about individuals achieving their personal best, however, we were pleased with our provisional headline results which were close to our school targets. Our motto is "success for all in our learning community" so it was great to see 100% of students in the cohort gain useful qualifications which will serve them well for their future careers. There were many individual triumphs across the entire year group with a considerable number of students gaining high GCSE or equivalent grades in ten or more subjects. Congratulations also to our Year 10 students for their many successes in their maths, science and in some cases, technology GCSE exams."

Ilfracombe Arts College pupils and staff were celebrating after a record 58.3 per cent got five marks between A* and C.

The college said overall around 15 per cent of students got A* and A grades.

A total of 35 per cent of students who sat the physics exam got an A or A* grade and 79 per cent of pupils passed their Spanish test.

Two students, Hillary Davey and Kate McCarten, were ecstatic after they both gained all grades at either A or A*.

There was further success in vocational subjects with a 100 per cent pass rate in health and social care, 95 per cent in the BTEC national diploma construction course and 76 per cent in media.

Sharon Barnes, principal at Ilfracombe Arts College, said: "We are really delighted with the effort which staff and students have put in. The quality of results is testament to the hard work of staff and students. This is the reason for their success."