WORCESTER twins were seeing double when they received their GCSE results today.

Identical sisters Katie and Lisa Grinnell were astounded to see they had achieved exactly the same grades in all 10 subjects they had taken.

The 16-year-olds, pupils at Blessed Edward Oldcorne RC High School, attained impressive results - four A*s, five As and a B.

Katie said she was astounded yet delighted at receiving the same results as her sister.

"It was a real shock and I'm amazed but really pleased," she said. "We both revised together and are competitive with one another but this is unbelievable."

The sisters, of Waverley Street, Diglis, now hope to study the same subjects at Worcester Sixth Form College in September, but neither has chosen a career path yet.

Katie said the sisters had not let the pressures of the exams get on top of them during the summer.

"We've had holidays to Canada and France and it's really good now we've got our results out of the way," she said.

Headmaster Tom Hurley said he was delighted for the girls.

"It's an incredible coincidence but they have done really well," he said.

"They are both popular hard-working girls."

CELEBRATIONS were also in full swing at Worcester's Alice Ottley School after another improvement on the previous year.

Year 11 students had an A* to C pass rate of 99.11 per cent.

"These results are marginally higher than the very good grades attained last year," said headmistress Morag Chapman today.

"They are indicative of excellent teaching and a high degree of student motivation. The girls have worked really hard and deserve to feel proud of themselves.

"They now have an excellent foundation on which to build next year in the Sixth Form as they embark on the new AS level courses."

More than 61 per cent of students had all A* and A grades and Alicia Coupe went home with nine A* grades and one A while Rosemary Smith recorded nine A* results.

All students gained five or more A to C passes.

THE boys at a Malvern school bucked the national trend by outperforming the girls in their GCSEs.

Sixty three per cent of boys at The Chase had five A* to C grades compared to 60 per cent of the girls.

"This is a cracking set of results," said headteacher David Fawbert. "Not just in quantity, where we were well ahead of forecasts, but also in terms of quality."

Out of the school's 268 students 31 achieved eight or more As and 67 per cent of results were A* to C.

STAFF at a Worcester school were celebrating after another improvement in results saw them again beat the national GCSE average.

Students at the Blessed Edward Oldcorne RC High School did the business leaving their teachers basking in their success.

"From what we've seen so far we think we've beaten last year's figures and beaten the national average," said deputy head Tom Hurley. "We're very pleased and many of our most able children have done exceedingly well."

Meanwhile, Allan Foulds, head of Christopher Whitehead High School, also sang the praises of his pupils and staff.

"I'm totally delighted about the excellence of the results, there are some superb individual performances," he said.

"Two students got entirely A and A* grades and a further five had a majority of A and A* grades.

"The overall picture is good news for students who can continue their studies at Worcester College of Technology and Worcester Sixth Form College.

"I have to pay tribute to hard-working staff and a very good year group."

The St John's school maintained the proportion of pupils achieving five or more A* at 87 per cent - up from 80 per cent four years ago.

The number of pupils getting A* to C was 42 per cent, an improvement on the average for the last four years and 95 per cent of students had one or more GCSEs with an average points score of 37.24 - higher than agreed targets.

A handful of pupils had a majority of A to A* with two getting no lower than A grades and one with eight A*s and two As.

Graham Watts, head of Elgar High School, was upbeat after results were announced.

"There were some excellent individual performances where a number of students obtained all nine GCSEs at grades A* to C," he said.

"Staff at Elgar have worked very hard to produce the best possible outcomes for our students.

"We are always seeking new ways of supporting and contributing to that success."

THERE were scenes of jubilation at Worcester's Christopher Whitehead High School today as excited pupils crammed into the foyer to receive their GCSE results.

As girls shrieked and laughed, the boys showed their relief with slightly more constraint. But all seemed happy with their results.

The school's examination secretary and senior teacher Alan Dally said a lot of students had done "exceptionally well".

"You can see from their euphoria that they are pleased," he said.

Emma Grantham, aged 16, of Lower Wick: "I feel really good. I passed maths which I didn't think I'd pass and I got three As, five Bs and five Cs".

Emma who wants to be a solicitor plans to study law, history, English and classics at Worcester Sixth Form College.

Jessica Rowberry, 16, of St John's: "I did better then I thought I would especially in maths and English."

Jessica wants to be a beauty therapist and plans to study at the Art and Design College in Barbourne having achieved two As, two Bs, six Cs and two Ds.

Lee Oakley, 16, of Lower Wick: "I did about the same as what I thought I'd get except biology where I thought I'd do better."

Lee, who got five As, four Bs and four Cs, now plans to do art, biology, geology and classical civilisation at Worcester Sixth Form College.