STUDENTS at Minehead's West Somerset Community College were yesterday (Thursday) celebrating another record-breaking batch of A Level results, beating both the college's previous best performance and the national pass rate.

A total of 99.5 per cent of students achieved grades A* to E, well ahead of the national pass rate of 97.8%.

Some 45 per cent of all grades achieved by college students were at grade A* or A, an improvement of 11 per cent on the previous year.

There was also a five per cent increase this year in the number of A*-C grades achieved, while the proportion of students achieving top grades increased significantly, with 86 per cent of all entries at A*-C grades, up 15 per cent on 2010.

Overall, the results marked the third year of what the college described as "continuous significant improvement in overall grades in all subjects".

In percentage terms, seven per cent of passes were at A* level, 45 per cent A* and A and 62 per cent A* to B.

The top performing community college student was Georgina Rayson, who gained four A Levels - two at A* grade and two As.

Emily Cross had two A* passes and one A grade, Jack Buckingham gained one A* and three As, while Francesca Walker and George Lovegrove each passed with one A* and two As.

Other high fliers included Josh Farmer with A*AAB, Alistair Poat A*AAB, Bethany Goodwill A*A*B, Masha Beylina AAB, Stephanie Worrall AAC, Samuel Barrett ABB, Jenna Burge ABB, Emma Lethaby ABB and Carl Thorne ABB.

A number of students took vocational exams rather than traditional A Levels, with a significant proportion attaining three distinctions, the equivalent of three A* or A grade A Level passes.

The top performers with three distinctions apiece were Fay Bampton-Wilton, Bernadette Boden, Harry Bullock, Leanne Candy, Fraser