Stellar students achieve top marks in rare academic feat

Two Prior Park students, Bella Risso and Chloe Kou, have achieved grade 9s across the board for their 10 GCSEs in a rare academic feat.

Over 600,000 students sat their GCSEs in 2025 across 3,600 schools in England and Wales.

Yet according to Prior Park, just 576 students in England scored straight 9s in at least 10 subjects.

The chances for a student achieving all grade 9s is a tough feat with less than 0.1% doing so.

For Prior Park to have two of its students in Gibraltar to achieve this has been a great success and an exceptional accomplishment for Bella and Chloe.

For Chloe, results day felt like a shock.

She had woken up late that day and had arrived at school later than most students.

“It had died down a bit and everyone had gone home,” Chloe said.

“I was quite shocked. I thought they gave the wrong results at the very beginning.”

“I was aiming for higher grades, but I did not expect to get all 9s, and I was surprised to know that my work paid off.”

Bella added that she wasn’t expecting such high results either.

On results day she had achieved all 9s, except in her English Literature exam where she was just one mark off a grade 9.

She sent the exam for a remark and her grade improved to 9.

“I definitely wasn't expecting it,” Bella said.

“I was aiming for seven, eights and nines, but I didn't think I'd get straight nines.”

Both Bella and Chloe studied consistently to ensure their academic success with the teenagers sharing advice on exam preparation.

“I think it was just consistency over a long time so that when it came to the exams, it wasn't like cramming,” Bella said.

“It was more just going over notes I'd already made or flashcards I already made. I was quite prepared.”

Chloe added: “It's good to be prepared earlier. I would say a lot of the work I did was also in the weeks leading up to exams, that also mainly paid off. I think consistency and just being able to be determined enough to actually stick to studying and a schedule that helps get the high grades.”

Both students, aged 16 years, have now moved onto their A-levels.

Bella is studying A-level maths, further maths, physics and computer science, and Chloe is pursuing A-levels in history, religion, sociology, and maths.

Bella is not yet sure what she wants to do in the future, but she said it will definitely include maths.

“Something to do with maths, but I'm not sure exactly what, if I'm going to go into computer science or accounting,” she said.

Chloe has a clear vision and would like to study a humanities-based subject like law.

“I really want to do law, or law and ethics, criminal law, something like that,” she said.

Outside of schoolwork and prepping for exams the teenagers enjoy hanging out with friends and socialising.

Chloe plays the piano and she also sings, while Bella likes to play netball and indulge in her creative side with art.

“I think the main thing is just not getting burnt out,” Bella said.

“So socialising and then after exams, having that celebration and being able to just completely relax. Thinking about summer kept me going.”