For Isabel Kempner, the most worrying part of results day was getting a working internet connection to discover her grades.

The Roundhay resident and Leeds Grammar pupil was on a caravanning holiday with her family in the south of France last Thursday when she found out she had achieved nine A*s and an A.

"I needed to log-in to my school's website and the internet wouldn't work, which was a bit stressful," she said. "It was an annoying time for it to stop working."

When she did learn of her success, it was all smiles for the rest of the day, as her family took her out for a celebratory dinner.

Isabel had been on course for top grades after her mock GCSEs, but was still anxious as she awaited her results. "You don't know whether it is going to go wrong."

She was particularly proud of her textiles exam, for which she worked hard on a Cleopatra-style toga dress with an Egyptian collar.