STUDENTS across York celebrated A-level exam success on a day when several city schools recorded their highest ever results - bucking the national trend.

Nationally the proportion of candidates receiving top grades fell today (August 18) from last year, but is higher than before the Covid-19 pandemic. A total of 36.4 per cent of entries were awarded either an A or A*, down from 44.8 per cent in 2021 but up from 25.4 per cent in 2019.

At Joseph Rowntree School in New Earswick in York the school achieved its highest ever A-level results with 38 per cent of grades were A*/A, 70.5 per cent of grades were A*-B and 91 per cent were A*-C.

READ MORE: A-Level results day 2022 coverage for schools across York and North Yorkshire

Ben Coleman, director of sixth form said: "I am delighted with this outstanding set of results from our year 13 cohort, it has broken all our previous records and held up against our Centre Reported Grades from the last two years.

"Huge congratulations to all of our students and thank you to their teachers and families for supporting them so well over the last two years.

"Our students in applied / BTEC subjects have achieved brilliantly as well, with an average grade of a Distinction across these courses. We have a 100 per cent pass rate in all subjects."

Meanwhile at nearby Huntington School it was a similar story with the school celebrating it's best ever A-level exam results.

Overall, 42 per cent of the A-level grades achieved by Huntington students were either A* or A and 72 per cent of grades achieved were at grades A* to B.

Chris Hardwell, director of Sixth Form said: “I am extremely pleased that despite the difficult circumstances of the past two years our students achieved the best ever examination results at Huntington Sixth Form.

"These outstanding results are testimony to the hard work and dedication of every single one of our students and I am immensely proud of their exceptional achievements.”

Across the city All Saints RC head Sharon Keelan-Beardsley said: “We normally have around six Oxbridge students.

"There were concerns this year that places would be limited, but we seem to have bucked that trend. Our results are our best ever published results.”

Meanwhile at York College the first students to study under the national T Level technical programme at York College have achieved a 100 per cent pass rate.

The cohort of 16 students led the way in the new two-year vocational course, which combines classroom-based learning with industry placements.

The college introduced the Design, Surveying and Planning for Construction T Level to its prospectus two years ago, and the first students received their results on Thursday, with every one of them successfully completing their course.