IT was a day of heartbreak for some and happiness for others when the GCSE results were announced on Thursday (Aug 22).

The borough's schools saw some of their highest ever results, part of a national trend. But whereas girls nationwide out-performed boys by far, in Bury the battle of the sexes was not as clear cut.

Nationally 57.9 per cent of pupils gained A*-C grades and 97.9 per cent of entrants gained A*-G grades.

Derby High School in Bury celebrated its best GCSE results. Twins Shahryar and Shahrzad Hadavi were especially pleased with their results. Having attended the Radcliffe Road school for just two years after fleeing their native Iran, they achieved seven A* grades and four A grades between them.

Elton High School set a new school record with 59 per cent of pupils gaining five or more A*-C grades. Broad Oak High School also scored a personal best with its A*-C grades per centage. Head boy Tim Slymon gained seven A's and two B's and head girl Lucy Livesey achieved three A's and six B's.

Tottington High School pupil Catherine Gardner certainly lived up to her head girl title. Catherine, of Claybank Drive, achieved ten A* grades.

Bury CE High School had a "fantastic four" in Elinor Dunn, Graham Higson, Alexandra Mackenzie and Katie Suarez who all gained A* or A grades.

Headteacher Mr Phil Grady said: "Once again we are delighted with the success of all our pupils, which is entirely deserved and reflects great credit on themselves, their teachers and their families."

Bury Grammar School (Girls) had a record pass rate of 98.7 per cent C grades and above. Equally impressive was the fact that 60.8 per cent of the grades were A* or A and in 16 subjects there was a 100 per cent pass.

Headteacher Miss Caroline Thompson said: "The results this year have been very gratifying indeed. On the official points scale used by the DfES, the average score per girl is 66.5, almost seven points higher than that ever achieved by BGS girls before this year."

The star performers were Amanda Bursk, Nina Dutta, Victoria Grabowski, Paula Mack, Joanna Roberts and Cassandra Seddon who secured all ten subjects with A* grades.

Bury Grammar School (Boys)had an A*-C pass rate of 94.8 per cent. There were 171 A* grades and 226 A grades.

Omer Ahmad scored ten A* grades and both Jonathan Chew and James Lomax scored nine A* and one A.

Coney Green High School in Radcliffe witnessed an eight per cent improvement in five or more A*-C grades. Significantly, two thirds of that cohort were boys.

Headteacher Diana Morton said: "This is an extremely pleasing result and the pupils' achievements are outstanding."

And, for the first time in a number of years, pupils at the top end of the ability range at Radcliffe High School achieved ten full GCSEs at A*-C grades.

In the south of the borough there was also cause for celebration.

At Philips High School, more than half the boys achieved five A*-C grades.

It was the same story at St Monica's RC High School. Boys at the Bury Old Road school were the surprise best performers overall, with 71 per cent of them gaining five or more A* -C grades. This exceeds last year's national average by 26 points and tops the girls' score of 60 per cent.

Deputy headteacher Mr Bernard Swarbrick said: "These are outstanding results with our boys' results not only being very high for the fourth year running, but slightly out-performing the girls. Our girls' results still remain consistently high and these results are just reward for all the hard work and extra hours put in by pupils and staff."

For the third year in succession, the pupils have broken the 70 per cent mark for five A*-C grades and five pupils gained straight A or A* grades.

Girl power did prevail at Parrenthorn High School.

Headteacher Mr Arthur Francis said: "We have maintained our upward progression in results, which we are delighted about. In total, 62.5 per cent of all children gained five A*-C grades compared to our previous highest of 60 per cent last year.

"In terms of national figures, we are pleased to be above the national average. The girls did considerably better while the boys were much closer to it. The girls again have lifted our results overall."

Top pupil at Parrenthorn was Sonya Veitch with 6A* and 4A grades. The best-performing boy pupil was Alexander Pace with 4A* and 4A grades.

Assistant headteacher at Prestwich Community High School, Mr Brian Worthington, said: "The school has continued its success in achieving exceptional results for our students. In particular the school has two children who have gained straight A or A* grades for all their subjects."

At Castlebrook High School, Unsworth, Heather Hamilton, of Manchester Road, Bury, was the top pupil with 10 A*.

Pupils at Elms Bank Community High School in Whitefield gained more GCSE passes than ever before and they also excelled in Certificate of Achievement, many obtaining the highest grade.

Other courses, such as City & Guilds and Accreditation for Life & Living studied by 16 to 18-year-olds, also proved successful.

Headteacher Mrs Lynn Lines said: "Congratulations should go to all the pupils and students who worked so hard."