Jewish schools have kept up their high standards with students returning an impressive set of A-level results.

Yavneh College, Hertfordshire said that it was "proud" students had performed "fantastically well across all subjects", with a record eight succeeding in winning places at Oxford and Cambridge.

Almost a quarter of the state-aided college's A-level results, 23 per cent, were at the highest grade of A*.

Overall, 96 per cent of pupils' results were in the A*-C bracket. Almost half of were at A* or A grades.

Hollie Berman, from Bushey, who is off to Cambridge to study English with A*s in history and art and an A in English said she felt "relieved and happy. I don't really believe that it's actually happened".

Headmaster Spencer Lewis said: "These are a wonderful set of results, all because of a huge amount of work by the pupils and outstanding teaching and guidance on the part of our staff. We are all very proud."

At JFS, 81 per cent of results were A*-B, an increase of four per cent on last year and the highest in three years.

Some 60 students gained three A-levels at A or A* grade, matching last year's record number of A*s.

Fifteen students have gained places at Oxford or Cambridge, with five pupils set for medical school.

The school was also celebrating pupils' performance in more vocational programmes with 80 per cent of those taking a new course in hospitality and catering achieving a double distinction.

Debby Lipkin, JFS executive headteacher, said she and her staff were "thrilled" by the results, and "what they mean for all of our students and their families".

The results, she said, were "a tribute to the dedication and commitment of the sixthform team who provide outstanding teaching, support and guidance for all of our students.

"The whole school community takes much pride in these achievements which will enable our students to move to the next stage of their life with confidence."

At Immanuel College in Bushey, 70 per cent of grades were achieved at A or A* - compared with 50 per cent last year. A quarter - 25 per cent - were A*.

It was a good year too for the Hasmonean High School in London with 41 per cent of students gaining A* or As. Most students will be going to study at yeshivah or seminary before taking up places at universities which include Cambridge and medical school.

Rachel Fink and Debbie Lebrett, Hasmomean's heads of school, said they were "proud of every individual and grateful to our exceptional staff who have dedicated their time to guiding and supporting them in their Jewish and secular education, personal development and communal commitment. We know that in future years the whole community will benefit from our students’ successes."

Joshua Rowe, the chairman of King David High School in Manchester, said its results were "excellent".

Two students achieved 4 A*s and two three A*s and twenty-five overall at least three As at A grade or above. Three students have secured Oxbridge places.

At King David, 80 per cent of all grades were A* to B.

Patrick Moriarity, head teacher of JCoSS in London, was also pleased at the performance of its small sixthform of 23 students, who joined from other schools.

For the second year running, 38 per cent of all grades were A or A* and two thirds at B or above.

Two students will go to medical school and one to Cambridge.

Mr Moriarty said, "These students have only been with us for two years, and these excellent results reflect the hard work put in by students and teachers alike. They have sustained the successes of previous years."

The first full cohort of sixthformers at JCoSS sat A-S exams this summer and Mr Moriarty said their results had "far exceeded expectations".

Two students from Kantor King Solomon High School in Essex are also bound for medical school. Three-quarters of the A-levels gained by students there were at A* to C grade.

Matthew Slater, KKS headteacher said, "We are delighted that the hard work, dedication and commitment of our students has led to such success at A’ level. These results, plus our recent ‘Good’ OfSTED grading show that the school is continuing to provide a great education for the students of North East London and south Essex.”

Nationally, a record number of university places were awarded to pupils, with the total number expected to be more than 420,000 – representing a three per cent increase on 2015.

Experts warned there would be a wide variation in the level of results and grades obtained by pupils across the country.

The national pass rate remains unchanged at 98.1 per cent.

But the percentage of A*-A grades declined fractionally from 25.9 per cent last year to 25.8 per cent.

Overall, 52.9 of A-level grades were awarded at A* to B.