Among the first to collect results from Macclesfield Academy this morning was Sophie Buxton, 16, from Sutton, who picked up an A*, three As, eight Bs and a C.

She said: “I’m over the moon. I’ve worked so hard and spent hours and hours revising every day, and it’s finally paid off.

“I’m so pleased that I passed Maths, that’s the thing I struggle with and I wanted to do well in.”

Sophie will go to Pendleton School of Performing Arts in Salford to study drama.

She said: “There is a lot of pressure on people now to do well, it’s all about getting the grades and you have to do well.

“I feel lucky that I know what I want to do.

“It’s a relief to get our results today, and sad that we are leaving school behind.”

Francesca Smith, 16, of Bond Street, Macclesfield, passed 14 GCSEs and will go on to study A Levels in Maths, Art, Psychology and PE at Tytherington School.

She said: “I’m so happy, especially with my English Literature as I got an A* which was a real surprise.

“I was really nervous before today and it’s a big relief to get my results.

“It’s really nice to share it with all the other students, and it’s sad to be leaving, but exciting to move on to the next step.

“I don’t know what I want to do yet. At 16 it’s hard to know what you want to do, but I know I want to keep studying and will do my A Levels in the subjects I like and hopefully will be able to figure out what I want to do after that.”

This is the first year that students must stay on in education or training at least part-time until they are 18, after a change in the law.

Megan Graves, 16, from Sutton, was pleased to see an A in PE among her results, which sets her in good stead for studying a BTEC in sports science at Tytherington School next term.

Megan said: “I’m so happy with my results. I want to study PE and sports science and learn about the body.

“It’s been a lot of hard work, but it’s good here at Macclesfield Academy because you can choose to take GCSEs in Year Nine and Ten, so for someone like me who struggles with exams, it’s much better, rather than doing them all at once.

“There is a lot of pressure on teenagers getting their GCSEs and having to decide what to do next, but for me I’m going to do a BTEC rather than A Levels, as I’m better at doing coursework.

“Everyone is different and I know I am interested in learning about the body and sports science, so maybe I’ll become a physio.

“We’ve made so many good memories at school.”