BISHOP Auckland student Katie Reed has landed one of the highest English GCSE marks in the country.

Katie, a pupil at Bishop Barrington School, gained one of the top five marks in the country out of 362,913 people who sat the duel award English literature and language exam.

The rest of Katie's results also made impressive reading as she was awarded six A*, three A and two B grades.

The 16-year-old from Cockton Hill said: "I was really pleased to see my results, especially with the letter from AQA examiners congratulating me on my English result. I put in lots of hard work and went to revision classes and the school held extra ones during study leave to keep us focused."

Bishop Barrington School, which was heavily criticised by Ofsted inspectors eight years ago, has doubled last year's pass rates. The number of students achieving A* to C grades has risen from 20 per cent to 41 per cent.

Headteacher Keith Cotgrave said: "Overall myself, and all other staff, are thrilled with the school's results.

"It is absolutely fantastic to see lots of happy smiling faces around the school.

"It is particularly nice when individuals who have put in a lot of hard work are awarded the results they deserve, we're all proud of Katie's achievement.