Staff and pupils at an independent school are celebrating success following the release of their exam results.

Sixth formers at North London Collegiate School, in Edgware, have ranked in the top four per cent of students worldwide who have sat the Imternational Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma exam, with an average point score of 41.1.

Two girls, Rachel Hughes Morgan and Caroline Jones, achieved perfect scores of 45, a standard reached by only about 150 pupils out of 60,000 internationally.

The 18-year-olds now plan to go on to further their educations at university, with Rachel hoping to study politics, philosophy and ethics at St Catherine's College, Oxford University, and Caroline hoping to read physics and philosophy at Bristol University.

Headteacher Bernice McCabe said: "We are delighted with our students' achievements in the IB Diploma this year.

“The key to helping them secure these results is teachers who share their love of subject, who develop knowledge and understanding in students without an emphasis on examination assessment criteria, who encourage students to develop their interests beyond the classroom, and who are always willing to provide individual support."

It is the tenth year in a row that the average point score attained by the NLCS students has exceeded 40 points.