SOME of the area's brightest teenagers are among the first A-level students nationwide to be awarded the new A* grade.

The elite grade, for students scoring at least 90 per cent, won't be fully introduced at A-level until next year.

But it has been trialled this summer with sixth formers who have completed university-style extended projects, which count as half an A-level.

The A* has been created in the wake of perennial claims that exams have been dumbed down. With so many students getting straight As, universities have found it hard to distinguish between candidates when offering degree places.

Now the Joint Council for Qualifications has revealed fewer than 600 people achieved an A* this year, out of more than 5,000 students who submitted extended projects. But several of these exceptional performers are from Staffordshire and Cheshire.

At Sandbach High, five girls got A* grades. They are a mixture of AS-level and A-level students, who took the freestanding qualification alongside their main courses.

Extended projects, which have only just been rolled out nationally this year, can include writing an essay of up to 5,000 words, carrying out an investigation, producing a short film or piece of music, or creating an artefact.

They are designed to stretch teenagers and help prepare them for university and working life.

Seventeen-year-old Sandbach High student Katherine Hamilton, from Elworth, earned an A* after researching the American civil rights movement for her project.

She used her findings to produce a booklet – complete with puzzles and exercises – aimed at supporting history lessons for 12 and 13-year-olds.

School staff have been so impressed they are now considering using her booklet as part of the curriculum.

Katherine, who has also achieved three As and a B in her AS-levels this summer, said: "I've really enjoyed doing it.

"I've developed skills you wouldn't normally get the opportunity to develop with A-levels. The hardest thing has been time management.

"When I found out I'd got an A* for it, I was excited, especially as they've only just come in."

Sandbach High's achievements are all the more remarkable because one out of five students doing an extended project gained the new A* grade. These star sixth formers also include Kirsty Lea, Steph Norwood, Sophie Walker and Emma Bedford.

Students' project ideas ranged from writing a play in the style of an Alan Bennett monologue to making a go-kart.

Another of the country's first A* students is Hannah Smith, who studied at Moorlands VI Form College, in Cheadle.

The 18-year-old, who lives in Cotton, near Cheadle, based her project on a performance exploring Christ's crucifixion, where she played Mary. She followed it up with an analysis of why she had chosen to act the role in a certain way.

Hannah also achieved two As and a B in her A-levels.

Although delighted to do so well, she has mixed feelings about A*s being introduced for full-scale A-levels next year.

"I don't think it should take away from the hard work of people who have got As," she said.

One warning is that A*s may simply knock all other grades down a peg, making young people feel an A is no longer good enough.

A*s are part of wider A-level reforms, which also include more open-ended exam questions.

The new top grade will be based on the second year of the A-level course – or on their extended project. AS-level marks won't count towards it.

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