Most teenagers in Shropshire have to wait until the end of August to find out if they have secured a place at the university of their choice - but some students are already celebrating.

As well as sitting GCSE and A level exams, pupils at Ellesmere College have the option to take an International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma and a BTEC Sports Diploma - both of which have had the results published already.

A number of students achieved outstanding IB results and there was a 100 per cent pass rate on the BTEC Sports Diploma.

Brendan Wignall, Headmaster of Ellesmere College, said: “I would like to congratulate our International Baccalaureate and BTEC Sports Diploma students on their achievements - it’s always a pleasure to see our students secure impressive grades such as these, and it’s particularly pleasing to see all who wish to progress to university being able to do so.

“Credit also goes to the excellent work of our teaching staff and to parents for their constant support and encouragement.”

The IB was introduced at Ellesmere College in 2006 as a challenging alternative to A Levels and is held in high esteem by top universities in both the UK and around the world.

Students study six subjects, a course in The Theory of Knowledge, and produce a university standard extended essay as part of their assessment.

Luke Parker, of Whitchurch, gained an impressive 39 points, equivalent of A* A A grades at A Level, and has a place at Birmingham University to study History.

Kate Williamson, of Erbistock, achieved 37 points - securing a place to study Law at York University.

In the BTEC Sports Diploma results all students who completed the extended diploma, the equivalent of three A levels, achieved either Distinction or Merit.

Bethan Edwards, of Oswestry, will go on to study Broadcast Journalism at Salford University, Sam Ellis, from Wem, is now hoping to study Sport Management at Loughborough University and Tom Hill, of Malpas, will go on to study Real Estate Management at Oxford Brookes.

The publication of A Level results will be on August 16 and GCSE results in August 23.