Students gathered at the Farnworth school with a buzz of excitement, joy and pride as they celebrated with families and staff.

Aleena Joseph received eight nines and three eights and has decided to go to Runshaw College to study computer science, maths and psychology and she is even considering further maths too.

She said: “I feel really relieved about my results, I was really stressed out at first and I was a bit unsure because I knew that I had potential but after the exams I was so stressed out that I wasn’t thinking straight.

Aleena Joseph received eight nines and three eights.. (Image: NQ)

“I have been thinking about my results for the past month, but I am so relieved.

“My results are so much better than I was expecting, I thought I was going to do really bad in science and English, but I got two nines and an eight in science and two nines in English.

“I was unsure about my career for a while, but I realised that I enjoy computer science and maybe I will narrow down to cyber security and AI.

“I just want to be involved in something bigger and interesting.”

Aleena said she would also like to travel for six months to see different cultures.

Amelia Chester achieved all sevens, eights and nines and Alicia Lonsdale received six, sevens, eights and nines (Image: NQ)

Alicia Lonsdale achieved grades between nines and sixes in all her subjects and she is pleased despite the struggles the pupils have faced due to Covid.

She said: “I am really pleased with my grades; I am shocked about some of them but mostly excited.

“I am now going onto Bolton Sixth Form to study A-level maths, further maths and computer science.

“I think people think that Covid didn’t really affect us because it was year eight and nine but obviously with GCSE’s sat in year ten, I think without a foundation it does make it more difficult than people realise.”

Headteacher Catherine Anderson said: "We are absolutely delighted with the outstanding achievements of our students this year.

"They have all worked really hard. It has been a privilege to celebrate with them this morning.

"It is important to recognise that this year there has been a return to pre-pandemic examination standards, which means this cohort of students have had a particularly challenging time.

"The class of 2023 have not had the adaptions that have been in place for the past three years to mitigate the impact of the pandemic, so they have had to work exceptionally hard.

"We are so proud of what they have achieved despite all the disruption they suffered during their secondary education.

"Our students have been well supported by our teachers and support staff who have worked tirelessly to ensure that students achieve the grades they deserve and are able to progress onto the next stages of education.

"We are immensely proud of all of our Year 11 students, and we wish them the best of luck and look forward to seeing what they will achieve in the future."

If you have a story or something you would like to highlight in the community, please email me at chloe.wilson@newsquest.co.uk or DM me on Twitter @chloewjourno.