A TEENAGER who sat her A-level exams in a hospital bed after contracting an infection is celebrating high grades.

Sarah Walmsley, from Leek, spent a fortnight at Macclesfield District General Hospital with cellulitis in her ankle just as the main exam season was getting underway.

It meant she had to revise and take her exams in English, sociology and photography from her sick bed. But the Leek High student has now gone on to gain three Bs in her A-levels.

And that means she has a place at Chester University to do a degree in English.

Sarah said: "It was strange revising on my own because I couldn't check up on what my course mates were doing. But I'm pleased with my results and I'm looking forward to moving on to university."

Sarah is one of several Leek High students preparing to move on to Chester in the autumn.

Others include 18-year-old twin sisters Becky and Lauren Flavell, from Leek, who will be taking degrees in maths and fine art respectively. Becky got two As and two Bs, while Lauren got a B and two Cs.

Overall, Leek High has been celebrating its best ever A-level results. Teenagers who have taken vocational courses have also achieved success.

Every student who took a BTEC in sport, through a partnership with Leek College, has snapped up the equivalent of grade A.

Acting head John Spencer said: "We are very pleased with these results. Seventy per cent of A-levels results were at grade C and above, and 85 per cent of our year 13 students have applied for university, with every one of them gaining a place."

At Leek's other high school, Westwood College, every single student who took German at A-level got an A or a B grade this year.

In physics, 71 per cent of students got a B or above, and at least six out of 10 students achieved the top two grades in geography, history, drama, and classics.

In Newcastle, results at St John Fisher Catholic College have also been impressive. The subjects netting the highest proportion of A and B grades have been classical studies and religious studies.

The school is also bucking the national trend in languages, with a growing range of courses now on offer to sixth formers.

As well as French and German, teenagers can take A-levels in Polish, Russian, and Urdu. Overall, 67 per cent of students who did languages at St John Fisher got an A or a B.

In science, some of the best results were achieved by girls this year – 67 per cent of girls who took physics got an A and 43 per cent of females who did chemistry scored the top grade.

Student Amy Hughes has now landed a place at the Royal Veterinary College, in London, to study veterinary science and Sophie Owen will be taking a degree in natural science at Cambridge University.

Other aspiring female scientists from the school include Rebecca Ruscoe, who will be studying chemistry at Manchester University.

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