WREXHAM students and teachers have hit back at claims A-level exams are getting easier.

The county borough had a pass rate of 96.8%, 1.4% up on last year.

But nationally students' achievements have again been criticised by some who claim exams have become too easy.

At Ysgol Dinas Brân, where 99% of students passed and 50% of those got A's or B's, students were upset at the claims.

'We worked really hard for these results,' said Holly Cottrell, who got A's in Maths, Further Maths and Physics.

'I think teachers have just got better at teaching us what we need to know and how to answer questions.'

She was celebrating with Paul Brown, who got three A's in the same subjects as Holly, Anna Jones, who got A's in History, Biology and Chemistry, and Sophie Ballany, who got two A's in Biology and PE and a B in French.

Deputy headteacher John Gambles said the row over A-levels was ridiculous.

'I have been a chief examiner and the tests are as hard now as they were 30 years ago,' he said. 'Saying exams need to change because more people are passing is like saying you should make the wicket in cricket longer because Andrew Flintoff and Steve Harmison are too good. It makes no sense.'

At Ysgol Ruabon there was international A-level success. One of the school's top students was Zimbabwean Butjilani Hanyane.

He came to Wrexham after completing his O-levels in his native country and received an A in Maths along with good results in Biology and Chemistry.

Another international A-level star at Ruabon was Sharon Jones, who moved to Wrexham with her mother from South Africa in 2001.

She scored high in Biology, Chemistry and English Literature and intends to go to the University of Glamorgan to study Forensic Science.

'We are very proud of our students,' said Ruabon headteacher Pete Shaw. 'We had a 98% pass rate. Saying this is because exams are getting easier is an insult to staff and students. They are achieving these results through sheer effort.'

At Yale College there were also celebrations as students achieved a 98% pass rate, with 30 subjects gaining a 100% pass rate.

High achievers included Claire Beavis, who scored A's in Biology, Chemistry, Physics and Maths and a B in Welsh, and Ian Taylor, who got A's in Physics, Maths, Pure Maths, and Chemistry to secure a place at Durham studying General Engineering.