THE county's leading education official has described the achievements of Parmiter's School pupils as "breathtaking".

Speaking at the school's speech night in September, John Harris, Director of Children, Schools and Families at Hertfordshire County Council, praised the efforts of staff and pupils at the Garston school.

Headteacher Brian Coulshed reported to the assembled Parmiter's community, that this summer the school had exceeded its previous record results in the Key Stage 3 SATs, AS and A2 Level examinations.

He said: "In most respects, it was a spectacularly successful year, which took the school to unprecedented heights."

Record A-level results at the school translate to an average UCAS points score of 324, or average grade profile of ABB, enabling 149 Parmiterians to embark on university degree courses, including seven at Oxbridge.

These include: L Bethany Holford (Social and Political Sciences, Pembroke College, Cambridge), Ben Pilgrim (Chemistry, St John's College, Oxford), Thomas Porter (Mathematics, Worcester College, Oxford), Scott Taylor (Engineering Science, St Anne's College, Oxford), Kayleigh Rodgie (Education Studies with History, Homerton College, Cambridge), Thomas Mason (Natural Sciences, Queens College, Cambridge), Ann Murray (History, Jesus College, Cambridge).

In sport, the high standards are exemplified by the under-13s football team reaching the ESFA Cup national final at Villa Park and the following national sporting representatives: Elizabeth Hunt, England under-18s hockey captain, Steven Finn, England under-17s cricket, Lyndsey Fairweather, athletics, Abigail Lambden, athletics, Lucy Yates, biathlon (finished fourth in the World Championships), Adam Lambert, national under-18s skiing champion.