HUNDREDS of students were toasting GCSE success yesterday after an anxious summer waiting for their results.

Life at secondary school finished on a high note when the majority of the borough's teenagers ripped open their envelopes to discover their hard work had paid off.

And some pupils were among the best in the country.

They included Westhoughton School pupil Rachel Swan, aged 16, who gained one the top five marks in the country - out of 362,438 candidates - in English literature, and Bolton School pupil Rebecca Crossley, aged 16, who got full marks in the same subject, as well as being placed in the top five in the country for her results in French and Spanish.

Other outstanding candidates included Harper Green pupil Mohammed Wahid, from Farnworth, who achieved 17 GCSEs, seven of which were A* and seven were As.

Results showed that many schools were in line with or better than the national average of 62.4 per cent of pupils being awarded A* to C grades.

Bolton School was again top of the class with the Girls' division scoring a 99.2 per cent pass rate in the A* to C category, and the Boys' division recording a pass rate of 98.2 per cent. Although the overall pass rate was the same as last year, the school noted a marked increase in the number of pupils achieving top grades.

Canon Slade recorded its second best GCSE results with 83 per cent achieving five or more A*to C grades. The result was slightly down on last year's 87 per cent.

At Turton High School, 66 per cent of pupils gained five or more A* to C grades. The figure was also slightly down on last year's 68 per cent.

Schools which last year were below the national average still struggled to hit the mark, but made huge improvements.

At Withins School, Breightmet, and Hayward School, Great Lever, pass rates increased by 20 per cent to 56 per cent and nine per cent to 36 per cent, respectively.

Withins headteacher Phil Mather said: "We were looking at 40 per cent and this is a great result. We are so proud of our pupils.

"Next year, we are looking at achieving even better results because we are having more motivated pupils coming up through the years."

Harper Green School in Farnworth improved seven per cent to 43.1 per cent of pupils achieving five A* to C grades.

Westhoughton School also recorded record results with pupils' achievements increasing for the third year running with 53 per cent, compared to last year's 47 per cent, achieving at least five A* to C grades.