THERE were mass celebrations in schools and colleges as pupils received their A level results.

Many schools in Dorset and the New Forest had a 100 per cent pass rate, with all students achieving A* to E grades.

See all the pictures of A level results day across Dorset and Ringwood in our galleries 

And there were plenty that bucked the national trend and reported an increase in the number of top A* and A grades.

Bournemouth’s newest sixth form Avonbourne College was one of those celebrating a 100 per cent pass rate in its first ever set of A level results. It also posted excellent AS results, with 82 per cent of students passing.

Elite athletes and performers from the LeAF Studio in Bournemouth proved they are also academic stars, scoring a 100 per cent pass rate.

Among the success stories were volleyball stars Sam Walrond and Sam Allen, who have just been selected to play in the European u20s championships in Italy. They scored an A*, three As and two Bs between them in maths, physics, biology and chemistry.

At the Oak Academy, LeAF Campus, there was a 100 per cent A level pass rate for the fourth year running and every student taking media, sociology, geography and psychology courses got the highest A* to C grades.

Ringwood School also had a 100 per cent pass rate, while a quarter of all grades awarded were A* or A and over 83 per cent were A* to C.

There was an overall pass rate of 99 per cent at Brockenhurst College, with more than half the students gaining top drawer A* to B grades.

Nearly 70 per cent of students at Corfe Hills School achieved grades A* to C across a wide selection of 30 subjects. High achievers included Gemma Hart, who got 2 A*s and 2 As, and Michaela Bruce and Victoria Lindsay, who both got an A* and 3 As.

At St Edwards School in Poole the overall pass rate increased to 98.2 per cent, with the vast majority of subjects having a 100 per cent pass rate.

There was also an increase in the number of top grades, with A*, A, B and C grades making up 68.2 per cent of all those awarded.

Two pupils at Highcliffe School are off to Oxford University after the school achieved some of its best ever results. Jacob Brennan achieved five A*s and will study languages at Oxford, while Christopher Slade achieved two A*s, two As and a B and will study maths there.

Almost a quarter of all grades gained by Highcliffe pupils were A* or A grades and 66 per cent were A* to C.

Over half of all students at Lytchett Minster School achieved A* to B grades and the overall pass rate was 99.3 per cent.

At Ferndown Upper School the pass rate was 98 per cent and 60 per cent of students achieved the top grades of A* to C. AS results were also up by five per cent on the previous year.

There was a 100 per cent pass rate at Twynham and a large number of top performers, with 24 students gaining at least 810 QCA points – equivalent to at least three A grades.

At Parkstone Grammar, the overall pass rate was 99.6 per cent and 70 per cent of all grades were at A* to B.

Anna Campbell and Harriet Salmon achieved A* grades in all their subjects and 57 students achieved at least 2 A* or A grades.

Results were up by six per cent on the previous year at the Bournemouth and Poole College, where staff were thrilled with a 100 per cent pass rate.

At the Purbeck School, Wareham, the overall pass rate was just under 100 per cent, with 40 per cent of all grades at A* to B.

Notable students included Oliver Edgar, from Swanage, who achieved four A*s in Biology, Chemistry, Physics and Mathematics and will now study medicine at University College, Oxford.

It was a record set of results for Queen Elizabeth School in Wimborne, where 34 per cent of students gained A* to A grades and three quarters received A* to C grades. The overall pass rate was 98 per cent.

The Arnewood School in New Milton was another that celebrated its best ever set of results. This year saw the highest number of A* to B grades awarded, with 55 per cent of students achieving these top grades. Their overall pass rate was 99 per cent.

Almost three quarters of A level students at Talbot Heath school achieved A* to B grades and a third of the pupils achieved three A grades or more.

The overall pass rate at Bournemouth School was 99 per cent, with 67 per cent of all grades awarded a level B or above and 13 per cent of entries awarded the highest A* grade.

At Bournemouth School for Girls, all students achieved A* to E grades in all exams, with 71 per cent of all examinations taken being awarded a grade B or above. More than 17 per cent of all entries were awarded the highest A* grade, up five per cent on last year.

Canford School celebrated one of the highest A* percentages ever recorded at the school. Almost a quarter of all examinations were awarded the top A* grade and nearly half the year group gained an average of straight As. An impressive 95 per cent of all grades awarded were A* to C.

At Collegiate School, A* and A grades were 10 per cent higher than expected. Head boy Vincent Hendricks secured four As and a B and Martin van der Heijden achieved an A* and four As.

At Poole Grammar School, 67 per cent of students achieved A*, A and B grades. Star pupil was Josh Dickenson who achieved five A*s and is now going to Oxford.

At Poole High School, nearly half of all grades were A*s, As or Bs.

St Peter’s also maintained its strong track record with an overall pass rate of 97 per cent and nearly three quarters of results at grades A* to C. There was also a two per cent increase in the number of A* grades.