After months of studying the wait was finally over for GCSE pupils across Norfolk and Suffolk today.

Youngsters gathered at Sir John Leman High School in Beccles, Beccles Free School, Bungay High School, Hobart High School in Loddon and Langley School to tear open their envelopes among classmates and teachers.

This year, the government has abolished the familiar measure of the proportion of pupils who gained five A* to C grades, including English and maths. Schools’ results are now based on the percentage of pupils who gained A* to C grades in just English and maths.

At the Sir John Leman, 66pc of pupils achieved the new standard compared with 74pc getting five A* to Cs last year.

Headteacher Michael Taylor said: “Sir John Leman Year 11 students once again produced an excellent set of GCSE results to be proud of this summer, underlining the continuing success of the school. We congratulate them for the demonstrably outstanding progress they have made; the average grade for all students at our school is now a C+ grade, which is impressive! Our strong attainment data is testament to the hard work of both staff and students and highlights the importance of the positive relationships and partnerships which we value highly.”

At Beccles Free School, 47pc achieved A* to C in English and maths, compared with 53pc last year.

Headteacher Nigel Youngman said: “Students and staff have worked extremely hard, with 47pc achieving an A* to C grade in English and maths and a further 26pc achieving a C or above in either English or maths. Alongside some excellent individual performances, students did particularly well in all the creative subjects.”

At Bungay High School 54pc of pupils achieved the standard, up on 50pc last year.

Angelo Goduti, headteacher, said: “We are extremely proud of the progress which our students make in the five years that they are with us. There has been a significant improvement in the progress that students are making in English and maths alongside their other subjects. We are pleased that the hard work of students has been recognised through improved individual and collective whole school results.

“Overall, 67pc of our students achieved five A*s to Cs, a 7pc increase on last year, with 54pc achieving A* to C in English and maths. The governors and I would like to pass on our congratulations to the students, staff and parents of Bungay High School on the results achieved this year.”

And at Hobart High School, 65pc achieved A*s to Cs in English and maths, compared to 67pc in 2015.

Jim Adams, headteacher, said: “Although we are happy with what is an excellent set of results, we are delighted with the progress measure for our students. This measure really demonstrates the effort, determination and hard work of our students and staff. It was particularly pleasing to see seven of our students achieve straight As and A*s. Well done to all concerned.”

Langley School did not provide the percentage of pupils obtaining A* to C grades in English and maths, but headmaster Dominic Findlay said: “This year’s cohort has improved our top end grades with A* rising to 14pc from 10pc last year and our A*/A increasing to 40pc from 36pc last year which is an incredible achievement!”

In Suffolk, 63pc of pupils got A* to C grades in English and maths, up on last year’s result of 57pc. And in Norfolk 60.8pc achieved the standard, up on last year’s 57.2pc.