There will soon be a real Woking feel to Exeter University, as 22 former A-level students from Gordon’s School have taken up places there.

Gordon’s School was founded as the national memorial to British war hero Major-General Charles George Gordon, and now it is sending an academic army down to Devon.

Almost 90 per cent of A-levels taken by Gordon’s students received grades from A* to C, and most students earned a place at their first choice university.

Five students were successful in their bids to go to Oxford or Cambridge, and three others will be studying medicine.

The Oxbridge quintet are Adam Mills, Wei-Yee Zhou and Katherine Macfarlane (all engineering), Michael Mills (biomedical sciences) and Oluwatosin Osinibi (architecture), who also had a painting selected by the Royal Academy of Arts for its Young Artists Summer Exhibition.

Aimee Millington, Aster Lam and Mikaeel Bajwa secured medical school places.

Former head girl Adaora Ambrose’s A* performance means she will read law at a Russell Group university, and four rugby players studying at Gordon’s on the Harlequins/Gordon’s partnership programme achieved great results and have been awarded contracts by Harlequins.

A total of 39 per cent of the A-levels taken by Gordon’s students received A* or A grades, 69 per cent were graded between A* and B, and 87 per cent earned grades between A* and C. The average performance per student was BBB.

The school is also celebrating its BTEC examination results, in which 41 per cent of papers received distinction* or distinction grades, with 87 per cent graded between distinction* and merit.

Gordon’s School headmaster Andrew Moss said: “I am delighted to see so many students pleased with their results and excited for their next destinations, which are testament to the hard work and commitment by students and their teachers.”