An Independent college has been ranked in the top 20 schools.

Fee-paying Lancing College celebrated 95.4 per cent of students gaining all A* to C grades in this year's A-level results and is now ranked inside the top 20 schools nationally by two newspapers and the Independent Schools Council (ISC).

The Times top independent schools league table, which was based on the total number of points candidates were awarded for each A-level or International Baccalaureate grade, ranked Lancing 18th.

The Daily Telegraph ranked schools according to the number of A and B grades and the college consolidated its place in the first division.

The ISC, as reported in The Guardian, listed the school 17th in its table of top independent schools.

Acting headteacher Richard Biggs said: "Our positioning in all these tables reflects our very high standards and I congratulate all our students and teachers for their exceptionally hard work especially as Lancing had never set selective academic entry hurdles.

"What is more rewarding is that these results are achieved in an environment where excellence is not restricted to academic achievement.

"Breadth is as important as depth and our pupils excel in many other musical, sporting and cultural activities.

"We are certainly not just an academic hothouse."