SUSSEX is once again going against the flow with GCSE success on the rise while the country sees a drop to the lowest level for almost ten years.

The proportion of Brighton and Hove students achieving five or more GCSEs with A*-C grades including English and maths has risen by one percentage point to 62 per cent compared to 2015 while West Sussex has seen a 1.5 per cent rise and East Sussex four percentage points.

It was a day of celebration across the county with plenty of star pupils and several schools achieving record results.

The county closed the gap with the rest of the country as national results dropped to their lowest since 2008 with A* to C dropping from 69 per cent to 66.9 per cent.

The drop has been blamed on more pupils in England being required to resit English and maths with pressure now being put on the Government to drop the mandatory policy.

There was further reason to cheer in Brighton and Hove where the percentage of pupils achieving A*-C in English and maths rose to more than ten percentage points higher than the rest of the country.

Contributing to the bright local picture was record-breaking years for several schools including Roedean, Shoreham Academy, Seaford Head School and Brighton Aldridge Community Academy.

All 2,080 exam papers submitted by Brighton College were graded at least as a C with pupils gaining the most combined A* grades ever while Longhill High School bounced back under new headteacher Kate Williams with their best ever GCSE results and a six percentage point rise on last year.

Cardinal Newman Catholic School saw its A*-C grade percentage rise to a high of 73.1 per cent with 30 students gaining 10 or more A* or A grades while Bede’s Senior School in Upper Dicker was also celebrating best-ever GCSE results .

LVS Hassocks, a specialist school for pupils with autism, saw a school best of 44 per cent of A* to C, while BACA saw an incredible 20 percentage point increase on last year’s results for five A* to C GCSEs.

Top students included Cardinal Newman’s Emma Taylor with 13 A*s and Dasha Alderton who achieved 11 A* and As at only 15 years of age.

Stars at Brighton College included Natasha Vincent, daughter of BBC Strictly star and presenter Katie Derham, who got 3 A*s and 6 As and England-U16s and Harlequins rugby star Jon Searle with 9As and 1A*.

Brighton and Hove City Councillor Tom Bewick, chairman of children, young people and skills committee, said: “Last year Brighton and Hove had the most improved results of any local authority in the country.

“This year’s results represent yet another step forward for our city and I take my hat off to all the hard work our students and staff have put in."

West Sussex County Councillor Christine Field, acting cabinet member for education and skills, said: “I am delighted that students in West Sussex have managed to buck the national trend and have achieved so well.”