Just a few months ago, 16-year-old Harriet Jordan Wrench was lying unconscious in a hospital bed fighting for her life.

Yesterday she was one of thousands of teenagers across Brighton and Hove making the nervous journey to school to pick up their GCSE results.

Harriet, of Brighton, suffered a fractured skull, leg, ankle and pelvis and broke her right ribs in a road accident last Christmas.

She was determined five years of hard work would not go to waste and sat her GCSEs from her hospital bed days after undergoing her sixth operation.

Yesterday, she celebrated a string of A, B and C grades and gained her entry to college where she will study for A-levels.

Harriet, who attended Dorothy Stringer School, said: "I think I would have done better if it wasn't for the accident but I'm pleased to have got what I did. I'm lucky to have sat them at all."

It was another year of success for the city's schools and colleges with many outstanding examples of individual effort and achievement.

Hundreds of students celebrated a string of A and A* grades, among them Geoffrey Gosby of Blatchington Mill School, Hove, who received 12 of the top grades and Richard Turk and Jackson Heddy, of Longhill School, Rottingdean, who achieved top grades in 14 subjects.

But the exam results were about more than academic excellence, with several teenagers showing themselves capable of triumphing above adversity.

Hove Park School students Rachel Birrell and Ian Martin celebrated good news just weeks after they were seriously injured in a road accident on Hove seafront.

Ian was left fighting for his life and Rachel suffered a serious ankle injury from which she is still recovering.

Yesterday, Rachel, 16, found she had achieved an A*, two As, four Bs, and four Cs, enough to take her to BHASVIC in September. She said: "I'm quite pleased and pleasantly surprised."

Her friend Ian passed all his exams with four grades in the higher category.

Varndean School student Mark Boxall, of Hollingdean, also battled the odds to get one step closer to university. He achieved four A*s, seven As, and a B while working at Asda in Brighton Marina to save money to pay his way through university.

He will be the first member of his family in further education when he starts his four A-levels in Varndean sixth form in September.

Mark's mother Pat cried when she heard her son's results. She said: "I'm so proud of him. He's worked so hard."

Blatchington Mill student Geoffrey Gosby achieved one of the top five marks in the UK in both French and German. He also gained 12 As, five of which were A*.

Headteacher Neil Hunter said: "I am delighted with all of this year's results and very proud of my students."

More than half of the year group were awarded five or more A*-C passes, while 93 per cent attained five grades A-G.

Other high-flyers included Stephen Granger-Bevan with ten A*s, Harry Birmingham with 11 As, including three A*s, and Jessica Phillips with ten As, including four A*s.

Results at Hove Park School were down from last year but headmaster Peter Bratton was pleased with students' achievements. He said: "Many students achieved impressive results.

Leo Hills gained ten As, two of which were A*, while Sarah Fairhurst, Carina Leggett and Rosemary Mulhern achieved seven As. Andrew Fawn was pleased with his four As, one A*, and six Bs. He said: "I'm absolutely chuffed. I worked hard."

At Roedean School more than 98 per cent attained grades A*-C with 38 per cent of students achieving eight or more A and A* grades. In particular, Natalie Schwaiger from Brighton, was very successful, achieving six A*s and four As."

St Mary's Hall was celebrating after 35 per cent of students achieved at least seven As. All pupils taking maths and English language achieved C or higher. Outstanding performers included Kirsty Carr, with ten A*s, Ellen Grist and Rokhsana Saddighzadeh with five A*s and five As.

Headmistress Susan Meek said: "This year's results reflect a great deal of effort and enthusiasm for study."

At Longhill School in Rottingdean, the number of students passing five or more GCSEs at A*-C increased by four per cent from last year. Thirteen students achieved 12 or more GCSEs with six passing astronomy including Becky Nonoo who took the exam a year early and also passed two other GCSEs - all at grade A.

Head teacher Geoff Ellis said: "We are bowled over by these results."

At Falmer High School, Rachel West passed 13 at grade C or above, with nine at A* or A and recorded one of the top five marks for humanities in the UK. Jamie Marchant got 11 Cs or above, seven at A* or A.

Falmer's pass rate for students gaining five or more exams at A*-C grades shot up by seven per cent in its first year since coming out of special measures.

Head teacher Antony Edkins said: "The staff and governors are very pleased with this year's GCSE results and the improvements that have been made. I'm just coming to terms with it. The results are amazing."

Varndean School headteacher Andy Schofield was delighted with 53 per cent of pupils achieving five or more A*-C grades and 98 per cent passing at least one subject.

He said: "We have set ourselves very high standards and it is pleasing that this year we have improved again."

At Cardinal Newman School in Hove, the top male performance came courtesy of Paul Harrison, who gained four A*s and six As. His mark in history was in the top five in the UK.

Top girl was Joanne Chapman who got eight A*s and three As. Another 15 students gained eight or more of the top two grades. Head teacher Peter Evans said: "This year group was particularly pleasant and did above what we forecast."

Patcham High School was celebrating after those achieving five or more A*-C grades went up by 11 per cent.

Camilla Bryer was awarded one of the top five marks for German in the UK. Jean Guildford got six As and four Bs and Cs putting her on the path to medical school. Danielle Hann got five Bs, five Cs and a D but had to chase after the postman after her results failed to drop through the letterbox. Hayley Peck got three As, four Bs, two Cs and two Ds.

Brighton College students recorded a 96 per cent pass rate at A-C, an increase on last year.

Star performers included ten A*s from Max Oppenheimer, Shanika Nayagam with nine A*s and an A and Tobias Hunt with seven A*s, two As and one B.

Ringmer Community College achieved its best-ever GCSE results with more than 71 per cent of pupils achieving five or more of the top A*-C grades. Head Boy Tim Partridge produced one of many outstanding individual performances, gaining an A* in every subject.

For the fifth year running, all pupils at The Academy drama school in Freshfield Road, Brighton, passed their GCSE drama with either A* or A grades. The oldest of the nine students is 14 and the youngest only 12.

Frieda Warman-Brown, executive councillor for education at Brighton and Hove City Council, said: "From the results that are coming in it looks like schools in the city have had a fantastic year."