FRED Longworth High School students were celebrating their hard-earned achievements yesterday as they collected their GCSE results.

They had faced a tough challenge, especially with the introduction of more rigorous exams in English and maths and the new 1 to 9 grading in these two key subjects.

The new grade 9 is designed to be more difficult to achieve than the old A* grade and it was thought that few would reach this new tough standard, but the students at the school in Tyldesley were not deterred.

Among those who achieved grade 9s were three students who had already been awarded top A/A* grades in maths.

Marcus Ko, Matthew Roberts and Leon Smith-Morris all gained grade 9s in maths to add to their earlier achievement.

Many other students also achieved a crop of top grades.

The top performers included Thomas Mallinson, Laura Smith, Holly Hunter, Man Ting Chan, Charlie Anderton-Osmand, Natalie Atherton, Poppy Cruise, Olivia Hutton, Rebecca Lythgoe, Keatan Phillips, Leah Robinson and Mia Unsworth.

The school says it is proud of the achievements of all its students and recognises that these results could not have been achieved without the hard work and dedication of pupils, staff and parents, a real team effort.

Head teacher Janet Garretts said: “I am delighted with the achievements of all our students and wish them all the very best of luck as they move forward to the next exciting challenge.”