Brighton College pupils and staff were in celebratory mood after topping the previous year’s A-level results, with more than half of its pupils gaining As or A*s in each of their subjects.

And an impressive one in three grades achieved by the 199 Sixth Formers that sat A-levels were A*s.

In total, there were 476 grades at A* or A, 138 at B, 23 at C and 5 at grade D.

Top performers include Sam Lu, who scored an astonishing five A*s in chemistry, computing, maths, further maths and physics.

Two of our pupils, Syrian refugees Sulaiman Wihba and Elias Badin, did exceptionally well. Sulaiman scored four A*s in maths, further maths, chemistry and physics while Elias, who studied the same subjects, got A* and three A grades respectively. Both young men endured torturous journeys to get to the UK, with Sulaiman stowing away in a refrigeration lorry surrounded by boxes of frozen chips to get here. After studying in the Sixth Form on full scholarships, Sulaiman got a place at Balliol College, Oxford, and Elias at Queen Mary’s in London.

Phoebe Pickering had just completed her AS level in English when she was diagnosed with cancer. She had to take her Upper Sixth year off school to receive treatment but decided to carry on doing the coursework she would have done at school. In summer 2016, on the basis of her AS marks and coursework, she was given an A* at A-level. In summer 2017, she completed her remaining two A-levels in Latin and RS and scored a further two A*s.