There were tears and hugs, grins and gasps for breath, and a few puzzled looks among the A-level students in Brighton.

There were several hangovers being nursed from the night before - and many more hangovers being planned for the morning after.

It was just another record-breaking day for this summer's crop of A-level students.

Just try telling ecstatic students such as Ruth Atkinson, Richard Harryman and Edward Lamb their hauls of four A-grades apiece meant standards were slipping.

The A-level pass rate soared by five per cent, from 89 per cent to 94 per cent.

But many Brighton and Hove schools scored high pass rates, recording their best-ever results.

Headteachers said they were not surprised by their pupils' achievements.

But that did not ease the unbearable tension before the students got their hands on their all-important envelopes on yesterday.

Varndean College student Rebecca Sawyer, 18, confessed to drinking herself into a stupor on Wednesday night just to get some sleep.

But discovering you have achieved three As in art, history and English literature is as good a hangover cure as any.

She said: "I went out the night before to get really drunk just so I could sleep, otherwise I wouldn't have been able to.

"I was pretty hung over this morning, as well as nervous. But it was so good to see the results. The hangover's still pumping, but it's definitely relieved a lot.

"I tried to get a balance over the two years of working, and going out a lot. I like burning the candle at both ends."

Steve Dixon, 18, was another Varndean College student with no intention of spending Wednesday night fretting at home.

He spent the evening playing bass guitar as his alternative rock band Kubrick gigged at The Portland Hotel in Hove.

He said: "I'd been working through the day, so when I got home later that night I was ready to sleep like a log.

"Gigging was an excellent way to release some of the tension about the results. When you're on stage you don't think about exams."

The band has been together for seven years, but Steve is now leaving after his three A-grades gave him a place studying medicine at King's College in London.

He said: "It's huge forfeit, because the band's been such a big part of my life.

"This is a really good feeling, though, to have these results in my hand. I put in a lot of hard work, and it's nice it's paid off.

"I take a cynical view of the talk of exams getting easier. A lot of people saying this sour grapes are those who got A-levels a long time ago, and didn't achieve what people are now. It's sad."

Lower sixth student Rowan Longhurst, 17, had a premonition she would do well in her AS-level exams.

She dreamt this week she would get three As, a B and a C. She was almost right - she actually managed four As, in English, French, design and PE, and a C in psychology.

She said: "It worried me that I was even dreaming about getting my results. If it had turned out completely accurate I really would have been spooked."

The pass rate at Varndean College, in Surrenden Road, Brighton, increased to 96 per cent, with 47 per cent of entries getting As and Bs.

Students at Brighton Hove and Sussex Sixth Form College in Dyke Road, Hove, provided a record pass rate of 95 per cent. Thirteen students gained four A-grades at A-level.

Robert Dawes almost fainted with shock when he discovered he had four As in physics, maths, computing and history.

His mum Kay Dawes, head of careers at the college, quickly found him a chair to sit in.

He said: "I really didn't expect this at all. I thought I'd done really badly in one of the exams, and that really knocked my confidence.

"During the past eight weeks there have been times when I've felt crippled by fear."

He will be studying computer science at Bristol University.

Mrs Dawes said: "This is wonderful news. Robert has been quietly worried, and none of us were expecting such good results. We'll be celebrating in style."

Close friends Ruth Atkinson and Edward Lamb will both be going to King's College, Cambridge, after bagging four As each.

Ruth will study economics, after scooping A-levels in economics, maths, philosophy and psychology.

She said: "I was crying when I phoned home with my results. The past few weeks have been a bit of a nightmare, but this makes it worthwhile."

Edward, who took maths, further maths, physics and English literature and will study maths at Cambridge, said: "I'm still a bit shaken. I tore the envelope open straight away, and felt so relieved. There'll be a lot of celebrating tonight."

Vikki Knott divided her time between studies and helping at the Activentura respite care centre for disabled children in Forest Row, East Sussex.

She still managed an A in health and social care, and two Bs in law and English.

She said: "I had to cut down a bit at the centre because my parents thought my studies would suffer. Now I can't wait to tell everyone there my results."

But she was baffled to find a Q for query where her sociology grade should have been.

The college expects to hear within a week why her result is uncertain.

Vikki said: "It's frustrating to wait, but apparently every so often there's a hiccup like this."

The pass rate was 99 per cent at Brighton College in Eastern Road, Brighton, with 35 per cent achieving As and 89 per cent gaining A to C grades.

Joshua Winter risked his teachers' wrath by keeping up activities with the Territorial Army while studying history, physics and politics.

After achieving two As and a B, he said: "It was difficult maintaining the weekly commitment to the TA and it caused a bit of tension with the school hierarchy.

"But it was good for me to learn about managing my time. I'd recommend the TA to anyone - but not necessarily while you're studying A-levels, though."

Roedean School pupil Nihar Punj achieved As in geography, history, and government and politics, and Bs in English and economics despite being deaf since birth.

Last year she won the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Award for outstanding achievement in the face of adversity.

Dorothy Stringer High School, in Loder Road, Brighton, scored a first by having 16 out of 20 pupils pass AS-levels in religious studies.

Assistant headteacher Simon Sharron said: "Eleven-to-16 schools normally prepare pupils for GCSE and not AS-levels. As an 11-16 school, Dorothy Stringer is probably breaking new ground."