A-LEVEL results have improved for the 22nd year in a row. Island schools boasted record pass rates again yesterday and results also improved for A-level-equivalent exams at the College of Further Education.

Ladies’ College recorded a 100% pass rate for the third year running and more A grades than ever before. Blanchelande Girls’ College also achieved 100%.

Would-be medical student Alex Monkhouse gained five A grades and two other Ladies’ College girls got four As.

Similar high scores were seen at Elizabeth College and the Grammar School.

‘I think there was a great deal of untapped talent out there and because results keep on improving, it raises expectations, which is a good thing. People often have more capability than they think,’ said Ladies’ College principal Margaret Macdonald.

‘There has also been a huge increase in understanding about teaching techniques. Textbooks have improved and there are more materials and resources available and the use of IT is now enormously imaginative.

‘I am delighted and there is a real buzz in the school.

‘One of the defects of the old A-levels, back in the 1950s and 60s, was that girls were often not encouraged to aspire to go to university and higher education, thinking instead about marriage, but that has changed.’

Blanchelande principal Lesley Le Page said 55% of students gained A or B grades.

‘It was a big adjustment when we changed to the new A-levels, but the staff know what to do to help the girls achieve their best,’ she said.

‘It used to be exceptional when someone got top grades, but more and more students are working towards them and they should get a lot of credit for that. If people say A-levels are easier, I challenge them to give it a try.’

Records were broken at the Grammar School, with more students than ever achieving more than three As.

‘We are now pretty consistently high and that is particularly pleasing,’ said head teacher Dennis Balls.

‘The important thing today is not statistics but what these results mean for each individual student. For almost every one there is a success story, whatever grades they have ended up with,’ he said.

‘There have been a lot of excellent achievements from people who have made the most of their abilities and have taken their education seriously.’

At Elizabeth College the high pass rate of the last two years was maintained, at 99.3%, with the highest-ever points score per candidate.

Earlier this week, UK schools minister David Miliband said that the national improvement in results was due to the hard work of pupils and teachers.

‘I echo his sentiment and congratulate all concerned on their efforts over the past two years,’ said college principal Dr Nick Argent.

‘College students can rightly be proud of their success – they have worked diligently towards these results and I am delighted to see their efforts so well rewarded.’

The head of sixth form and English, Rick James, added: ‘I think the boys are very aware of what they need to get into university and particular jobs and in the last few years, perhaps with the changing feel of the economy, they are more aware of the need to get their grades.’

Students at the College of Further Education taking vocational A-levels and national diplomas, equivalent to three A-levels, also improved on previous years and exceeded the national average.