Birmingham school pupils have had another record-breaking year of GCSE results.

The number of pupils gaining five or more good GCSEs in the city has more than doubled since the start of the Millennium, provisional figures show.

Early indications show that 84 per cent of pupils gained five or more A*-C grades, up from 81.9 per cent last year.

And the number of students achieving the benchmark five or more A*-C grades including English and maths stands at 58 per cent, compared to 54.9 per cent in 2010.

Top of the class in the city were pupils Andrew Pugh and Nishith Hegde, who notched up an incredible 18 A* grades apiece at King Edward VI Five Ways School.

Other successes included Perry Beeches in Great Barr, where 75 per cent of students scored five or more A*-C grades, and at Holy Trinity in Small Heath, one student notched up 17 A*-A graces to add to an A* in A-level media.

One Year 10 pupil at King Edward VI Camp Hill School for Girls scored 12 A*s and two A grades after sitting their exams a year early, while 66 per cent of students at the Q3 Academy in Great Barr scored five or more A*-C including maths and English.

St Alban’s Academy in Highgate was also celebrating, after 68 per cent of pupils achieved at least five A*-C grades including maths and English – a 37 per cent rise in just two years.

Principal David Gould said: “We set ever higher expectations for achievement at the start of each year and I am very pleased that the hard work of students and teachers, coupled with outstanding support from our parents, has paid off.”

Birmingham City Council education chief Coun Les Lawrence said: “It is great news that once again we appear to be on course for another record set of results.

“We have built a reputation for educational attainment in Birmingham and have consistently been the best performing large urban authority in the country. "

Plantsbrook School in Sutton Coldfield saw 72 per cent of students achieving five or more A*-Cs including maths and English, and had a 97 per cent pass rate overall.

Head teacher Tracy Campbell said: “these results are again the best ever for the school.

“Our students and staff worked really hard to achieve the best grades possible and as a community we can all be proud of them.”

Pupils were also celebrating another successful year at Solihull School, just 24 hours after a fire destroyed the school’s former gym.

A total of 30 pupils gained eight or more A* grades, including William Harland and Lizzie Humphreys, who each gained 11 A*s.

GCSE results in Sandwell schools were at a 10-year high, as the borough put aside its disappointment at losing out on a £125 million school rebuilding programme, which was scrapped last July.

Cabinet member for schools and families Coun Bob Badham said: “This is fantastic and it just goes to show all of the hard work that is being put in by the schools, governors, teachers and pupils.”

Early indications show that pupils in Wolverhampton achieved another strong set of results, with more than half of the city’s students meeting the national target of five or more grades at A*-C including English and maths.