Baccalaureate the secret as comprehensive trounces Eton

A comprehensive where sixth-formers do not take A-levels was celebrating yesterday after it beat some of the country's most prestigious public schools with its best ever exam results.

Hockerill Anglo European College in Bishop's Stortford, Hertfordshire, beat institutions such as Eton, Harrow and Westminster, according to figures published yesterday.

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The Independent Schools Council, the umbrella body representing most independent schools, issued its members' results a week after the publication of the national data.

The figures showed that, for the first time ever, half of all A-level entries from private schools were awarded grade A - twice the national average. More than 75% of entries were graded A or B for the first time.

But the data from 476 leading private schools also revealed that Hockerill would have ranked third in a combined table of state and private sectors.

It would have been the only comprehensive to be ranked in the top 100 schools in the country from either sector. Thirty four grammar schools would have made the top 100 with three - Colchester Royal Grammar, which would rank second, Colyton in Devon and King Edward VI Grammar in Chelmsford, Essex - in the top 10.

Dr Robert Guthrie, Hockerill's principal, said he was delighted at his students' success. Each pupil at Hockerill scored an average of 543 Ucas points - the equivalent of four As and a D grade at A-level.

The college offers the International Baccalaureate rather than A-levels because it was a "more coherent and more balanced" qualification which both "stretched the brightest" and "rewarded the diligent" Dr Guthrie said.

IB candidates must study six subjects, including a foreign language, maths and a science to ensure a broad education. They must also write a 4,000 extended essay, take a course in the theory of knowledge and do voluntary work for a component called creativity, action and service.

"Our aim is to produce well-rounded youngsters who want to and are able to operate internationally," Dr Guthrie said.

The school is unusual in its strong focus on languages. History and geography are taught to pupils in French or German from the age of 12, with lessons only switching back to English for the final year of GCSE courses to prepare students to sit exams in English.

It is also unusual in that one in three of its 720 pupils is a boarder. As a state school it does not charge for tuition, but boarders pay up to £9,400 a year for accommodation.

This summer is only the second year that IB results can be accurately compared to A-levels, as it has only recently been included in the points tariff from Ucas - the Universities and Colleges Admissions Service.

The IB was also responsible for the success of this year's top performing school, Sevenoaks School in Kent. The school, which charges fees of up to £26,325, was top of the table for the second year running. But this was the first summer when the school entered pupils for the IB alone.