MONTHS of toil and sweat have finally paid off for pupils at Barry schools.

Pupils and staff at Barry Comprehensive School, Bryn Hafren Comprehensive School, Ysgol Gyfun Bro Morgannwg and St Richard Gwyn High School were rejoicing last Thursday morning after receiving tremendous GCSE results.

For Barry Comprehensive School, these results were a continuation of the extremely impressive trend of recent years, which has seen the school recognised as the most improved school in Wales.

More than 60 per cent of the pupils who sat their GCSEs gained five or more A* to C grades, and almost 30 per cent of those achieved ten or more C grades or better.

Of particular note were Simon Lawson, who achieved 15 GCSE/GNVQ passes, ten of which were at A or A*, and Robert Morris, who achieved 14 GCSE/GNVQ passes, nine of those being A or A*.

Would-be doctor Robert Beer, aged 16, was overwhelmed with his list of As, Bs and Cs.

"This is much better than I expected," he said.

"I'm going to stay on at school and do maths and sciences, then hopefully train in medicine."

The school is also a pilot for the new Welsh Baccalaureate Qualification.

Students have bucked the initial national trend, which has seen some relatively high drop-out rates. All of the pupils, except one, who started the course this year have completed their studies and achieved the Intermediate Diploma.

Meanwhile at Bryn Hafren, the number of students achieving A* to C grades has climbed by nine per cent this year, much to the delight of headteacher Phil Whitcombe.

Mr Whitcombe said: "These are our best ever results. The girls have worked extremely well and the results are a reflection of their sheer commitment to work.

"This is also a big reflection on the staff at Bryn Hafren.

"There has been lots of support for the pupils, and many gave up some time during their Easter holidays to come in for revision classes.

"The success of GCSEs follows that of the A-levels, and the SATS, which were up by ten per cent - it's been a really good year."

Mike Clinch, headteacher at St Richard Gwyn High School, was equally impressed with the school's GCSE achievements.

"This year's group have been challenging," said Mr Clinch.

"But they have done really well and met the achievements of last year, managing to deliver a 60 per cent pass rate.

"They have all done their best, and moved upwards with promise and confidence."

Mr Clinch also said the boys' results were on a par with the girls', contradicting the national trend, with bright pupil Michael O'Brien getting six A*s and three As.

Staff at Ysgol Gyfun Bro Morgannwg were also overjoyed with their 68 per cent of pupils who were awarded five or more A* to C grades.