Students once again excelled in this year’s A-Levels at Royal Wootton Bassett Academy, with many securing coveted places at university.

Two students achieved their conditional offers at Oxford and Cambridge, while a total of 13 students from the cohort of 112 now looking forward to completing courses at universities in the Russell Group.

Headteacher George Croxford said: “A big congratulations to all our students, they should all be exceptionally proud of what they have accomplished.

“Once again about 28 per cent of them have achieved A* and A grades, and most of them have achieved what they needed to get them into their first choice universities.”

One of the students celebrating yesterday was Eleanor Wood from Royal Wootton Bassett, who secured herself a place studying food design and technology at Liverpool John Moores University after initially failing her Year 12.

Eleanor, 19, said: “I am so pleased that three years of hard work have finally paid off. I needed a C and two Ds and I’ve got a B and two Cs.

“In my first year I didn’t get the results I needed so I ended up taking another year, but I’m so pleased it’s all paid off now.”

Sam Kinnett, 18, head boy at Royal Wootton Bassett Academy, secured two As and a B to get him to the University of Derby to study Computer Game Programming despite only needing three Cs.

He said: “I did an extended project which meant I didn’t need such high marks in my A-levels.

“It was basically a research paper where I had to use Harvard referencing and everything. It was about how the development of artificial intelligence affects the future of computer games.

“I’m really pleased and I’m really looking forward to uni, just 30 days to go and I’m looking forward to starting.”

Ishi Tamhamkar, 18, of Royal Wootton Bassett, was also pleased with her achievements, being surprised that she secured herself an A in maths.

She said: “I just can’t believe that I got an A in maths. I’m just so shocked. I’m really pleased, I’m going on to study economics and geography at Loughborough.

“It’s been a good summer because I’ve been keeping myself busy and trying not to think too much about the results.

“I’ll probably celebrate by meeting up with friends.”

Becky Smith, 18, from Grange Park, was another student who surprised herself by doing better than she expected.

She said: “I’m hoping to study tourism management at Southampton Solent University. I needed 240 UCAS points. I got a C in English, which I am so pleased with.

“I really struggled with English, and I nearly decided to give it up after I took it for a few months.

“But I stuck at it and did the first year and now I’ve done the second.

“I’m really pleased. I want to do something involving travel in the future.”