Students across north east Wales are celebrating after receiving bumper GCSE results.

The number of pupils who passed their examinations has increased in Denbighshire, Wrexham and Flintshire.

Aimee Waring received straight A* and A grades

The overall pass rate for students who sat papers set by the Welsh Joint Education Committee (WJEC) in Denbighshire has risen for the second year.

The number who received grades A* to G is 98.8%, compared to a Welsh average of 97.9%.

The percentage of pupils achieving the higher grades A* to C is 59.2%, a 0.2% increase on 2001's results.

Denbighshire councillor Rhiannon Hughes welcomed the results:

"They show a continued improvement of standards in education in Denbighshire," she said.

Since GCSE's began this is a bumper year for us and the best set of results we've had

Paul Edwards, Castell Alun High School

In Wrexham the overall pass rate from A* to G is 98.3% which is 0.3% above the national average for Wales.

The pass rate for the critical A* to C is 57% which is in line with the results achieved last year.

Students at Castell Alun High in Hope in Flintshire received the best exam results in the school's history.

Assistant head teacher Paul Edwards said the pupils have done extremely well.

"We are exceptionally pleased with the results.

Nick Owen said boys work hard

"Since GCSE's began this is a bumper year for us and the best set of results we've had.

"The overall pass rate A to G was 99.9%, A* to C is a 73.5% pass rate and we're very happy with them indeed."

Sixteen-year-old Aimee Waring from Penymynydd said she was not expecting her grades:

"I've got all A*s apart from one which is an A.

"My mum and sister are outside and I rang my dad, they were really pleased but I was annoying them last night because I was really upset and I didn't want to come in."

She said she will be returning to the classroom in September: "I'm taking maths, chemistry, physics and biology next year and hopefully I'll be a doctor."

Emma Holmes plans to celebrate

Her classmate Kirsten Gray from Penyffordd received six A's and four A*'s.

She said she was pleased with her results but annoyed with criticism that the GCSE's are easy.

"It makes us feel that we don't work hard enough but we do, it's not us who sets the work," she said.

Emma Holmes said she had felt very worried coming in to school: "I was very nervous coming in, I'm still a bit shaky but I feel happy now."

Thursday's results have shown girls achieving higher grades than their male classmates.

"As a general rule, the girls do seem to perform better," said Mr Edwards.

"Some people would attribute that to more coursework but I think perhaps it's time to bite the bullet and start looking at ways, nationally speaking, boys are taught."

However, Castell Alun pupil Nick Owen said boys do work hard: "It annoys me a bit because most of the lads here actually do a lot of revision and do try hard but obviously other places let us down."

The 16-year-old added: "I did better than expected in my exams but I could've done a bit better in some subjects."