Teenagers across West Norfolk and Cambridgeshire are nervously collecting their GCSE results today.

Nationally, the number of pupils achieving top grades has fallen for the first time since the exam was introduced in 1988.

But many schools in the area are bucking that trend to report some of their best-ever results - much to the delight of children, parents and staff.

Keep visiting edp24.co.uk for results, reaction, advice and photos.

KEY TO FIGURES:

*The first figure is the percentage of

students who gained five or more A*-C

GCSEs, including English and maths,

with previous years in brackets

*The second figure is the percentage

of students who gained five or more

A*-C GCSEs in any subjects, with

previous years in brackets.

*The third figure is the percentage of students

achieving the English Baccalaureate – A* - C in

English, maths, double science, history or geography,

and a modern foreign language.

DOWNHAM MARKET HIGH SCHOOL AND COLLEGE

57pc (37) (35) (49) (45) (51) (43) (43)

69pc (54) (52) (68) (57) (59) (56) (51)

10pc

'These results show just how hard our young people have worked and how much the staff and parents in our community have put in to supporting them. Congratulations to all of the students, they have been brilliant this year and deserve all the success they have achieved,' headteacher Jon Ford.

THE KING'S SCHOOL, ELY

90pc (not available)

not available (not available)

not available

'Our students engage with so much outside of the curriculum, I never cease to be deeply impressed by the quality of their academic achievements. This year's students are no exception.

'Many have achieved straight As and A*s and the vast majority have exceeded their own expectations by a long way. They deserve warm congratulations,' headteacher Sue Freestone

KING EDWARD VII SCHOOL, KING'S LYNN

55pc (44) (50.2) (48.2) (44) (50.2) (50) (37)

65pc (70) (71) (67) (64) (55) (50.5) (45)

not available

'I think it's good if we acknowledge the success of all our students and those across West Norfolk. We have had an excellent set of results,' headteacher Mike Douglass

KING'S LYNN ACADEMY (Park High School results in bold)

35pc (42) (21) (18) (23) (21)

90pc (76) (48) (30) (38) (31)

not available

'We are delighted with the achievements of our students. Almost all of our students have achieved 5 good GCSE passes or equivalent, a vast improvement on previous year.

'We are totally committed to continued improvement and our maths & IT GCSE results and the very positive exam results released today for students entering year 11 are testament to the commitment of our staff and students. The coming year will see some specific initiatives to focus on improving our English results,' principal Craig Morrison.

NEALE-WADE COLLEGE, MARCH

49pc (42) (not available)

75pc (62) (not available)

not available

'I am pleased with the progress that has been made especially considering the increased Government expectations and the raising of national benchmarks.

'This has resulted in a national decline in the number of students achieving a C grade or above and therefore makes the seven per cent increase even more pleasing.

'The college staff were aspirational for all students and dedicated additional time through revision sessions and Saturday morning lessons to give our Year 11 students the very best chances to be successful.

'Whilst celebrating these results it is important that we continue build on this success and strive for even better results in future,' principal Jason Wing

SMITHDON HIGH SCHOOL, HUNSTANTON

60pc (47) (40) (38) (29) (45) (38) (35)

72pc (58) (50) (50) (40) (49) (45) (40)

not available

'We were confident that the staff and students had worked hard over the last two years and that this would result in a big increase in the level of attainment. However, even we were taken aback by the scale of our success,' headteacher Jon Goodchild.

SPRINGWOOD HIGH SCHOOL, KING'S LYNN

64pc (55) (50) (38) (30) (45) (38)

not available (not available) (64) (50) (40) (49) (45) (40)

not available

'Springwood High School is proud to announce the best GCSE results in the school's history. This is a brilliant set of results and testament to the hard work of students, staff and the excellent relationships forged with the parents of our year 11 students,' headteacher Andy Johnson.

THOMAS CLARKSON COMMUNITY, WISBECH

59pc (44) (27) (25) (24) (17) (14)

55pc (68) (43) (40) (31) (34) (21)

not available

'Our students have done well across the board. These great results demonstrate the academy's commitment to raising achievement. I am delighted for this year's students and their success is fully deserved.

'Staff at the academy are delighted and have already expressed their determination to ensure next year's cohort of students is even more successful,' principal Clare Claxton said.

WISBECH GRAMMAR SCHOOL

91pc (100) (93) (99) (99) (99) (97)

95pc (100) (97) (96) (100) (99) (100)

not available

'We are absolutely delighted with the performance of our GCSE candidates, who have worked hard to achieve such a fine set of results,' headmaster Nicholas Hammond.

MARSHLAND HIGH SCHOOL, WEST WALTON

50pc (44) (not available)

59pc (57) (not available)

13pc

'We are thrilled that the number of students attaining the 'gold standard' of five or more A* - C including English and maths has improved so much, as this is the standard that is so important in enabling students to get a job or a place on a further education course.

,'My congratulations go to all the students who have worked so hard and my thanks go to all the staff and parents who have supported them so well too,' headteacher Elizabeth Dormor