TOP A-level grades have increased for the first time in six years, as teenagers in Redditch and Alcester get their results.

Alcester Grammar School is once again celebrating superb A-level results, with a record 68 per cent of entries graded A*- B.

This figure is even higher (more than 82 per cent) for those students who have been at the school for the whole of their secondary education.

Clive Sentance, principal, said: “Amidst all the headlines about new specifications and exam reform, there are some things that never change. You just can’t beat excellent teaching and exam preparation combined with terrific effort from our students.

"We wish them all the very best.”

At Tudor Grange Academy 100 per cent of all students achieved level three qualifications. 84 per cent of students achieved at least three level 3 qualifications.

Nearly two thirds of all students achieved a top grade of A*- B grade with 75 per cent of these gaining the top A/A* grades.

Jodie Bolter, principal, said: “We are extremely proud of all of our students and their achievement is a credit to all of them. I am enormously grateful for the dedication and commitment of both staff and students and delighted that their hard work has resulted in their high achievement."

At Woodrush High School 56 per cent of students got A*-B, and 100 per cent achieved A*-E.

24.2 per cent of students at Saint Augustine’s Catholic High School got A*/A grades or equivalent – that is 93 A*/A grades or equivalent from a cohort of 106 students.

30 per cent of students achieved four or more A levels and 99.7 per cent of students achieved three or more A Levels.

Anthony Quinn, executive principal, said: "I am immensely proud of our students’ achievements which, as always, is testament to their hard work and diligence with the excellent support of staff, parents/carers and academy representatives of Saint Augustine’s."

56 per cent of grades achieved at RSA Academy Arrow Vale were A*-B with 48 per cent of grades at A*-B in A level subjects.

49 per cent of students achieved at least 1 A/A* grade.

Principal, Ian Mellor, said: "This is a fantastic set of results and is testament to the hard work of students, staff and parents. We are particularly pleased that for the second year running, all students who had applied for university were successful in securing their place."

As well as excellent A-level results, Trinity High School achieved its best ever set of vocational results, with the vast majority of students achieving Distinction or Distinction*.

A particular mention goes to Robert Gondris who achieved A* grades in maths, further maths and physics, and an A in German and who has secured a place at the University of Oxford to study mathematics.

Adrian Ward, headteacher, said: "I am delighted that Trinity Sixth Form continues to demonstrate a drive for excellence for all our students. The students and staff should be extremely proud of these achievements."

Nationally A* and A grades were awarded to 26.3% of entries - up by 0.5 percentage points compared with last year - with boys overtaking girls in top grades.

There was a fall in the top grades for 13 subjects in England with new content and now only assessed by final exams.

The number of university places allocated so far has dropped this year.

In A* and A grades, boys have moved ahead of girls, with 26.6 per cent of boys getting these results compared with 26.1 per cent of girls, reversing a 0.3 per cent gap last year.