THERE were plenty of nerves this morning as students flocked to schools around Winchester to find out how they fared in their GCSE exams.

Reporters from the Chronicle attended a variety schools to get pupils' reactions, including Kings' School, Mountbatten, Henry Beaufort, Perins and Westgate.

Some pupils were over the moon, others slightly less so, but the general mood was joyous as they waved farewell to five years of secondary school before going on to college or other endeavours.

READ MORE: GCSE results: live updates from Winchester and Romsey schools

Many of the schools praised their pupils for their hard work and perseverance.

The Westgate School, for example, released the following statement: "Pupils at The Westgate School have achieved academic excellence once again with results outperforming or consistent with last year's exceptional results. 

"We're absolutely delighted that our pupils have continued to demonstrate academic excellence once again: 40% of all grades were Grade 7 or above; 25% of grades were Grade 8 or 9, and 11% of all grades were Grade 9. 

"We're especially proud given that the pandemic started when this cohort was in Year 7. We wish this cohort every success for the future."

The Kings' School said: "We are, once again, absolutely delighted with the excellent GCSE results our pupils at Kings' School received today. The results reflect the dedication and ambition of our pupils and reflect the excellence that our staff strive for, enabling all pupils to thrive.

"Individual successes include a quarter of pupils achieving at least one grade 9, with nine pupils achieving 9s in eight or more subjects. For our 2024 cohort, the average grade achieved by our pupils has even improved upon last year’s success, as has the increase in the % of pupils achieving grade 4+ and grade 5+ for English and Maths.

"We are also confident that our pupils leave Kings' for the next stage of their journey having developed exceptional character, which will play as important a role in the inspiring futures they have in front of them, as the excellent grades they have attained today. 

Well done Kings' School Leavers 2024 - we are very proud of you and wish you every success for the future!"

At Henry Beaufort, 88% of students attained two grade 4s or above and 82% at least one grade 4 or above in scientific subjects. 30% of all results were at grade 7 or better.

Headteacher Sue Hearle said she was delighted by results that had outperformed the excellent results of 2023: “Our independent learning ethos enabled our students to approach their exams with confidence in their ability. As a school we were so impressed with their commitment to their revision and their understanding of their part in gaining these outstanding results."

Elsewhere, Thornden School released the following statement: "Students have been celebrating another year of fantastic results this morning. Students, staff, families and friends came together, after a nervous wait, to share their good news.

"The school has a track record of excellent outcomes and this year is no different with 88% of all students gaining a grade 4 and above in English and Maths (with 5 other subjects) and 27% of all students receiving a grade 7 or above in English, Maths and 5 other subjects. With the National picture being reported as a return to pre-COVID levels, the school is extremely happy with these results and, rightly, proud of their students.

"There are some outstanding achievers – many of whom gained all grade 9s or a mixture of grade 9s and 8s – this puts them in the highest achieving students in the whole country."

Headteacher, Caroline Lowing, said: “This is our favourite day of the year – when we get to celebrate the hard work, excellence and resilience of our students. We are so proud of all of our young people – seeing the looks on their faces when they open their envelopes is just magical."