Stand-out academic performances and pupils getting into their chosen universities meant there were happy faces at Oaks Park High School despite results being down on last year.

The school in Oaks Lane, Newbury Park, didn’t hit the heights of its best-ever year in 2011, when 85 per cent of pupils got three passes (A* to E) in their A-levels.

70 per cent achieved three passes this year, in line with the 71 per cent achieved in 2010.

Head boy Ross Attfield got three A grades and will study law at University of East Anglia and Ali Tiwana, 18, achieved an A in maths and Bs in further maths and economics to get into King’s College London. He said: “I expected AAB but I’m not too disappointed.”

Samuel Quirk, 17, got an A and two Bs and was “80 per cent sure” of going to university after gaining his insurance place to take law at University of Kent.

He said: “Law is really competitive, it’s making sure there’s a job at the end of it.

“I could get more experience in law and maybe apply again.”

Head teacher Steve Wilks said: “Last year was our best year ever.

“The A-level results are affected by what happened before and the AS-level results weren’t as good.”

He said a lot of students remain determined to go to university, despite potential tuition fees of �9,000 coming in from September.

He added: “[Pupils] are determined to go but a lot tend to look locally. That’s the big difference, if they can keep a job going, it can make a big difference.

“There’s still a strong feeling that it’s A-levels and then uni.”

Helena Morais, 18, was delighted with her results which mean she is the first person in her family to go to university.

And Natalya Martin, 18, was happy to have gained places at University of Essex and University of Winchester to do theatre and drama studies.

She said: “I’ll have to decide which I like the most. “I have to go home and think about it.”

Armani Manzambi, 18, praised his teachers, particularly head of year 13, Mrs Hill, for their support after getting into University of Derby to do architecture.