A Durham schoolboy is celebrating securing 11 (eleven) grade 9 results in his GCSEs.

According to Ofqual, only 188 pupils in England achieved all 11 GCSES at the top grade.

Timon Basu, a pupil at Durham School, has spoken of his “incredible surprise” at landing the top grade in every one of his subjects.

Speaking from holiday in France, he said: “Getting these results is pretty amazing. I set myself the goal of getting all 9s but I started thinking in recent weeks that I shouldn’t get my hopes up. When I saw them, I was incredibly surprised and happy.”

Timon’s parents had been trying to keep his feet on the ground ahead of results day and can now celebrate the joy of the achievement with him. “They said not to get my hopes up too high,” Timon said: “They’re also incredibly happy.”

Timon contributed to a record year of GCSEs at Durham School where one in every five of results was the top grade – Grade 9. Overall, 52.3% of results were grades 7-9; and, 70.9% of results were grades 6-9.

Kieran McLaughlin, Headmaster of Durham School, said: “Timon is a remarkable young man who richly deserves these incredible results. He studied hard and also was heavily involved in other aspects of schooling, including representing the school in the 1^st XI cricket team.”

Timon will study Chemistry, History, Maths and either Latin or Biology at Durham School Sixth Form.