Hertfordshire is one of the 10 best counties in England for top GCSE grades.

Of the 125,065 marks which 16-year-old GCSE students in Hertfordshire received on results day 2022 (Thursday, August 25), 34.9 per cent were worth grade 7 and above.

This percentage is the fourth-highest in the country, level with Berkshire and above the English national average of 27.3pc, according to Ofqual.

Only the cohorts in Surrey (35.6pc), Buckinghamshire (35.8pc) and Rutland (38.9pc) received a higher percentage of grades 7, 8 and 9 this year.

The high proportion of top grades for GCSE students follows a higher-than-average percentage of A or A* grades at A-level in the county.

The percentage of A or A* grades received by A-level candidates in England - published on August 18, 2022 - stood at 36.1, compared with 42.3pc in Hertfordshire.

Councillor Terry Douris, who is responsible for education at Hertfordshire County Council, said a lot of hard work has gone into achieving strong results.

He said: "I want to congratulate everybody that has done so well!

"For most GCSE and A-level students, they are taking their next steps into further education and the world of work.

"A lot of work has gone into securing these grades, especially after the last few years during the Covid-19 pandemic.

"There are an incredible number of people who work very hard at Hertfordshire County Council, Herts For Learning and at the schools themselves who want the very best for young learners."

Headteachers praised students for their efforts on results day.

Mark Lewis at The Thomas Alleyne Academy, Stevenage, said: "It is wonderful to be here and see so many smiling faces.

"It is a testament to the character of our students that they have done so well in the first set of formal exams since before the pandemic.

"I am delighted that so many of our students now have the results to take them to the next stage and wish them all the best."

At Beaumont School, St Albans, head of Year 11 Liz Cleverly said: "The members of this year group have excelled in extra-curricular activities, including sport, music, drama and the DofE Award Scheme and now they have reached the highest levels academically across all areas of the curriculum.

"I am immensely proud of this tremendous success, which is down to the hard work they have put into their studies, in spite of the challenges they faced due to the Covid-19 pandemic."

The 34.9pc figure refers to grades 7 and above which students aged 16 received. Taking into account all age groups, the figure stands at 33.8pc in the county and 26.2pc in England.

For the percentage of marks received worth grade 7 or above, Hertfordshire's 16-year-olds are ahead of students the same age in Greater London (33.9pc), Oxfordshire (33.1pc), Cambridgeshire (32.1pc), Bristol (30.7pc) and Warwickshire (30.5pc) in the top 10 counties.

The counties with the lowest percentages of marks received worth grade 7 or above are Lincolnshire (22.1pc), South Yorkshire (21.9pc), Northamptonshire (21.9pc), Bedfordshire (21.7pc), Cumbria (21.7pc), Cornwall (21.1pc), Norfolk (20.9pc), East Riding of Yorkshire (20.9pc), Staffordshire (20.4pc) and Isle of Wight (16.7pc).