A SWINDON student is celebrating after finishing top of the class at A-level English language, achieving the highest marks in the entire country.

The WJEC exam board has compared all the results from across the country and 18-year-old Katie Charleston, who studied at Cirencester College, has come out with the highest marks.

What makes her success even more impressive is the Nythe pupil only studied the course for a year at the college.

She said: “I guess it does come naturally to me but because I was doing the A-Level in a year, I was practicing every day, so it seemed easier to take it in and it stuck.

“The workload was a lot to deal with, but working every day made it easier.”

And she said her family was “very proud” of her achievements.

High flying Katie left the college in June 2014 with not only an A* in her English language A-level but also an A in design (graphic communications), a B in biology and an A in her extended project (EPQ).

She also paid tribute to her teachers at Cirencester College, especially John Pitt, who taught her English.

“I am stunned and delighted to be able to celebrate such a wonderful achievement, which truly wouldn’t have been possible without the excellent teaching from John Pitt and the rest of the English lecturers,” she said.

“Their constant guidance, encouragement and support provided me with the skills and confidence to fulfill my potential, even while I fast-tracked the subject.”

Katie is now taking an art foundation course at Bournemouth University with a diploma in visual communication.

“It’s lovely here,” she added. “The visual communication is basically graphic design, which is what I want to do.

“My extended project (equivalent to an AS level) was about the significance of maths in graphic design and I wanted to combine the design with my academic background.”

Her teacher, John, said Katie was one of the strongest pupils in her year and was deserving of her award.

He said: “She decided to do English language in one year rather than the usual two, always a demanding task.

“Of course, she took to language study immediately and was one of the best linguists in her second year group within weeks of starting.

“Thoroughly conscientious, highly gifted and absolutely charming, she was the perfect student and richly deserves this award.”

Katie will be presented with her award at a ceremony in Cardiff later this month.