Southend's grammar schools have proved yet again today they are at the top of the tree when it comes to GCSE results.

The best-ever results were achieved by pupils at Westcliff High School for Girls where 98.4 per cent of passes were at grades A* to C.

Caroline Bryant and Rebecca Scott both gained grade A*s in all ten subjects they sat.

At Southend High School for Boys, 97 per cent of passes were at A* to C, and ten pupils got ten or more GCSEs at grades A* or A.

Jubilant pupils at Southend High School for Girls were captured by our photographer as they ripped open their envelopes today.

Whoops of joy were made by the 16-year-olds as they discovered they had passed. Almost 97 per cent of the school's passes were at grades A* to C.

At the Prittlewell School, 88 per cent of exams were passed at A* to E - the old O-level pass grades. The headteacher praised staff and pupils for a good team effort.

Meanwhile, at Billericay School one pupil got an A* grade GCSE in German - at the age of 12.

The Government has pledged that by 2002, 50 per cent of 16-year-olds will achieve five or more A* to C grade passes at GCSE - up from 46.3 per cent last year - and 95 per cent one or more pass at any grade.

Exams expert Professor Alan Smithers of Liverpool University said the trends in GCSE pass marks showed the exam had made it ''easier for pupils to do better''.

He said: ''The overall level of performance is now higher, but that is because it has become easier to achieve, particularly through the expansion of coursework.

"There is also much more pressure on schools to do well to look good in exam tables.''

But the National Union of Teachers defended the achievement of its members and their pupils.

General secretary Doug McAvoy, said: ''This year, young people have performed even better again. They are to be congratulated as are their teachers.

"They should ignore the carping and inaccurate criticism that GCSEs are easier.

''They know all too well how difficult they are and how much effort they have put in to achieve these high quality results."

Cheers - Southend High School girls celebrate their results success

Picture: STEVE O'CONNELL

Converted for the new archive on 19 November 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.