It was a case of high fives all round for student Natasha Cornwell.

The talented 16-year-old's English GCSE exam paper was ranked in the top five of the country's 362,438 candidates - and gave her two of the five A* grades.

Natasha, who attends Beauchamps High School, Wickford, was thrilled with her results.

She said: "English has always been my favourite subject, but I never thought I would do as well as I have. I worked as hard as I could, but it has paid off and I am really pleased with my results. It is unbelievable."

Natasha, of Station Avenue, Wickford, plans to study English, geography, drama and media before embarking on a career in script-writing.