Rachel (16) achieved a high A* grade and was among the top ten students out of a total of 36,294 candidates who took the Art and Design exam this year.

Rachel's art teacher Anne-Marie Hoey said: "We are all extremely proud of Rachel's outstanding examination result. We have high expectations of all of our students and her achievement will inspire all to fulfill their own aspirations in the future.

"She is a credit to herself and to the school as a whole."

Another BRCC student from the sixth form has been accepted to Oxford University to read mathematics at St John's College.

James Hyde (18) gained four grade As in this year's A-levels. Headteacher David Jones said: "This is an incredible achievement by James.

"The mathematics department at Oxford has an international reputation and James will benefit from being challenged and taught by leading figures in this sphere of education."

Two students from BRCC have gone on to study at Oxford in the past five years.