A journey that began in lockdown ended with unconfined joy at Eggar’s School on GCSE results day.

Many students returning to the Alton school were welcomed back by assistant headteacher, Chris Legg, who had nothing but praise for the year group.

“We couldn’t be happier for them,” said Mr Legg.

“They have overcome the challenges of a disrupted start and have been justly rewarded for their commitment and determination with such impressive results.”

Case studies included Sophia, who is off to study Biology, Chemistry and Business at Peter Symonds College after picking up eight Grade 9s and a singular 8.

She said: “I can’t wait to see where this takes me – all my hard work has been worth it.”

More than a quarter of all grades awarded at Eggars were 7 to 9 while 100 per cent of students taking Statistics achieved Grade 6 or above, while the figure was also the same for Grade 5 at Music.

Bo Loomis, Millie Johns and Willow Lloyd picked up a host of 6 to 8 grades with the trio offering plenty of advice for students following in their shoes.

“It’s never too early to start revising – exams come up a lot quicker than you think,” said Millie.

Another student who was jumping hoops after collecting his result was Sonny Wood as his collection of Grade 6s and 5s booked him a place at Itchen College.

The Chawton teenager will be playing for the Elite Academy Basketball League alongside his studies with a trip to the US and a dream move to the NBA being his goal.

“We have improved on the success of previous years and we’re striving to set the bar even higher for all students in the year ahead,” said proud Eggar’s headteacher, Sarah Holman, in congratulating students.