IT was the girls that won the battle of the sexes when weeks of waiting came to an end with the release of A Level results at Herefordshire and Ludlow College.

In line with the national picture results were slightly down on 2013 but because additional places have been made available it is going to be easier than in the past to get into university.

Rachel Seddon, assistant principal at Ludlow College, said that results had held up well compared with last year with a 98% pass rate just down on the 99% in 2013.

This was the first full year since the merger with Herefordshire College of Technology and so Rachel Seddon said staff would be relieved to discover things had gone so well.

“In the past we have had some mature students but this time the students were aged 16 to 18 years and we had about 200 of them taking some 700 exams in 24 different courses,” said Rachel Seddon.

“There were some very good results and sociology and maths did very well.”

Tuition fees will be less of a worry for one of the star performers 18-year-old Susanna Riley from Clee Hill who earned four straight A star grades to take her to Oxford University where she will study Biomedical Sciences.

Susanna, who went to school at Lacon Childe in Cleobury Mortimer, has been awarded a scholarship worth £2,000 a year by the Ludlow Foundation.

Susanna, who works part time in a cafe that offers employment for people with learning difficulties and has previously worked at a residential home, wants a career in neuroscience research.

“I have been lucky to receive a £2,000 a year bursary from the Ludlow College Foundation,” said Susanna.

“This funding means I will be able to focus more closely on my studies because there is very little time for part time work.”

Zoe Leadbetter, 18, from Ludlow earned two A passes and an A star which is enough to enable her to study medicine at Keele University.

Chloe Thompson, also 18, who lives in Clee Hill, earned an ‘A’ level in psychology in just one year which is an achievement described as ‘remarkable’ by her teacher Sue Wilson.

“This is a great achievement as this is normally a two year course,” said Sue Wilson.

Lauren Wright from Tenbury had her six month old niece Lydia Ellis with her to share her joy as she got the results she needs to train to be an occupational therapist at university in Derby.

Abbie Young, 18, from Stottesdon, learned that her A star in sociology was part of a set of good grades that will enable her to study sociology and criminology at Keele University.

But the young women did not have it all their way and there were a number of successes for the men.

A year after collecting a great set of AS level grades Callum Monteith-Roberts from Ludlow finished the job with two grade As and a grade B pass enabling him to continue his studies at the Geography Department at Birmingham University, while James Naylor will also study Geography but at Exeter University.