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Students in the city have beaten the national average and have achieved a record high in number of A and B grades.

A total of 1,628 people sat their A Levels and equivalent qualifications this year - up from 1,301 students in 2008.

Even more students have achieved the highest grades with 49% getting A or B grades.

Councillor Clare Campion-Smith, Cabinet Member for Children and Young People, said: These are excellent results and I am very proud of all the young people in the city who have worked so hard to achieve them. When I visit schools and colleges around the city, I am impressed by the enthusiasm and commitment of the students I meet.

"Congratulations to everyone receiving their results today, and to their teachers and families, whose support and encouragement throughout the school year is vital to ensuring success."

But with more students taking the exams it means there's extra pressure on university places.

It's thought between 170,000 and 200,000 students could miss out on a place because of an influx in the number of applications this year.

Locally, the University of Bristol received ten applications for every one place available this year and is not opening up for the clearing process.

The University of the West of England (UWE) is open for clearing this year, but has also seen a big increase.

Joe Midgley, Director of Admissions and International Development said: "Every year our new student intake is around 5,000. This year we've received 27% more applications than we've had in previous years, that's more than 30,000 applications for our courses this year."

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