AN OUTSTANDING twelve-year-old girl has gained four A* GCSE grades in biology, chemistry, physics and maths.

Xiaoli Biggs, who lives in Mitchel Troy and attends Monmouth School for Girls, is moving into Year 10 in September and will follow GCSE and IGCSE courses in a further 10 subjects as well as starting A level maths.

Xiaoli took her first GCSE exams at eight years old when she was still at primary school.

She now has seven GCSES under her belt, including an A* in Chinese, an A in music and an A in astronomy, which she studied via distance learning.

Xiaoli, who has an IQ of 153, said: "I am really happy with my results. I worked quite hard for them but I am proud and over the moon."

She added: "When I am older I would like to study at Oxford or Cambridge and become an astronaut or a mathematician."

The school is celebrating its best-ever A* performance in a glowing set of GCSE and IGCSE results. 49 per cent of all grades were A*, far surpassing the 42 per cent of A*s awarded in 2016.

At Monmouth School for Boys, 93 per cent of pupils attained A* to C grades, with 35 per cent achieving an A* and 81 per cent celebrating A* to B grades.

Pupils were also among the first cohort to receive grades in a numerical format as opposed to letters.

Under the new system, 9, 8 and 7 are equivalent to A* or A, while 6, 5 and 4 are equivalent to B or C.

Two of the boys’ leading performers were Joe Bailey, from Llandogo, and Jack Tottem, from Devauden near Chepstow, who both achieved 11 A*s and a 9 in English.

The boys excelled particularly in IGCSE examination subjects which are more theoretical and exam based than GCSES, and are regarded as more challenging.

Monmouth Comprehensive School has also spoken of its “delight and pride” after students gained the best results ever recorded at the school, with more than 80 per cent in Year 11 achieving A* to C in Mathematics and the same with English and Science. 

The success was across every subject, with 13 subject areas achieving more than 30 per cent A* and A grades, and 25 students achieving 10 or more straight A* and As across all subjects.

A spokesperson for the school said: “The school has been notified by the examination board, that we have performed well when compared nationally with the new Welsh Baccalaureate Skills Challenge Certificate and we are being held up as an example of excellent practice.”

Headteacher Mr Davies added: “We are proud to be a comprehensive school with the aim of meeting the needs of all learners. With the opening of our new school in September 2018 and our continuing trajectory of success across many aspects of education from examinations to extra-curricular programmes, we will work to achieve the very highest outcomes for all children from our entire community. Congratulations to our wonderful students, their parents and, of course, to a brilliant staff.”

Dr Andrew Daniel, Headmaster of Monmouth School for Boys, said: “Following our outstanding A level results last week, we can be pleased with today’s GCSE results.

“The diligence and hard work of our boys has also been rewarded by the high number of A* to A grades in maths, physics, history and chemistry.”