Schools in Epsom and surrounding areas outperformed the national GCSE figures this year, despite a second drop in the proportion of students awarded top grades nationally.
While 68 per cent of the grades awarded nationally were at A*-C, schools in the area, which contacted the Epsom Guardian with their results, achieved an average of 92 per cent.
Despite a four per cent drop in the percentage of the grades awarded at A*-C compared to last year - from 97 per cent to 93 per cent - Epsom and Ewell High School, in Epsom, was the best performing state school.
A school spokesman said: "Against a somewhat turbulent national picture, we continue to go from strength to strength, showing improvement yet again from our results a year ago.
"The mood at the school was not just one of mutual congratulation but also of calm satisfaction."
City of London Freemen’s School, in Ashtead, and St John’s School, in Leatherhead, celebrated a crop of exceptional results and were the top performing independent schools, achieving 99 per cent of grades at A*-C.
Philip MacDonald, headmaster at City of London Freemen’s, congratulated students on their "superb results reflecting a great deal of hard work on the part of both students and teachers".
Rosebery School, in Epsom; Greenacre School for Girls, in Banstead; The Beacon School, in Banstead; and the Glyn School, in Epsom, the schools for which this newspaper was given last year's results, all saw a drop in the percentage of pupils achieving A*-C grades compared to 2012.
But the figure rose from 71 per cent in 2012 to 87 per cent at Ewell Castle School.
At St John’s School, James Barr, Thomas Fleming, Edward Hedger, Samuel Holwell, Nicholas Palmer and Matthew Boothby all achieved an A* in 10 or more subjects.
Mr Fleming said: "Chuffed to bits and I hope the results reflect the hard work put in by the teachers."
Eleanor Meech and Aarushi Vishnoi also stacked up A*s across the board at Rosebery, while John Macleod and Evangeline Hopper, of Therfield School, achieved 10 A*s, 1 A and 3 Bs, and 10 A*s and 1 A respectively.
Francesca Morris, of Greenacre walked away with 10 A*s and 1 A and got full marks in her Physics and Maths exams.
Although the proportion of students achieving an A*-A grade fell nationally to 21 per cent, Epsom College, St John's, Rosebery, Greenacre and Ewell Castle all bettered this figure - achieving 70 per cent, 59 per cent, 42 per cent, 39 per cent, 25 per cent respectively.
Girls were ahead of the game in the A*-A stakes nationally, with 24 per cent of them achieving the grades, compared to just 18 per cent by boys.
Lindsey Redding, headteacher at Greenacre, said: "We feel the girls have done extremely well and are delighted by the increase in A and A* grades in the face of rising standards."
Blenheim’s scientists also busted national concerns about a 7 per cent drop in the grades awarded at A*-C for the subject - from 61 per cent in 2012 to 53 per cent in 2013 - by achieving 63 per cent of A*-C in Science.
PERCENTAGE OF GRADES AT A*-C:
City of London Freemen's School, 99
St John's School, 99
Epsom College, 98
Epsom and Ewell High School, 93
The Beacon School, 92
Rosebery School, 91
Greenacre School for Girls, 91
Glyn School, 89
Ewell Castle School, 87
Blenheim High School, 86
Therfield School, 85
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