Bahar and Negar Mirshekar-Syahkal, 18, were both awarded grade As in maths, biology, physics, chemistry and general studies.

It does help when you are twins because if I don't understand things then she generally would

Negar Mirshekar-Syahkal

The pair, both students at Colchester County High School for Girls, will head off to Cambridge University to study medicine.

"I am really excited and really pleased, and it really hasn't sunk in," said Bahar.

"We only need three As to get into Cambridge but we have five so we are pleased because we wanted to get into Cambridge."

Mutual support

Negar said she and her sister had been able to help each other with their studies.

"It does help when you are twins because if I don't understand things then she generally would," said Negar.

"And I would really feel guilty if she was revising and I wasn't."

The girls' father, Dariush, is a professor of electronic engineering at the University of Essex and their mother, Tabassom, is an information technology consultant.

Going their separate ways

And identical twins Nicola and Suzannah Robertson - also pupils at Colchester County High School for Girls - each achieved four grade As.

Suzannah (left) and Nicola are off to different universities

"I'm shocked, it's amazing, it's like you work for seven years for the A-levels and to get the results is amazing," said Nicola.

Nicola is going to Cambridge University to read natural sciences after taking a gap year during which time she will travel to Namibia in Africa with Raleigh International.

Suzannah is going to Sheffield University to read geography.

"We are individual people but it will be a big change when we both go away and there will be lots of e-mails and visits," said Nicola.

Twin brother and sister

Twins Katie and Jamie Lee,18, from Bowdon, Cheshire, managed a total of 10 A-levels between them - all at grade A.

Katie was awarded six As after studying at Withington Girls School in Manchester and her brother got four As from Manchester Grammar School.

Both are taking up places at Oxford University, where their parents were students.

"The elation when we opened the results was superb," said Jamie.

"It's been an exciting morning. I was more confident about Katie because she has always been so clever."

School's star pupils

At the independent Leeds Grammar School there were celebrations as two sets of identical twins gained all A grades in their A-level and AS-level exams.

Simon and Timothy Sharp, 18, got top marks in A-level geography, economics and government and politics a year after sitting exactly the same AS-levels as each other and getting the same grades.

Habeeb and Hasan Rahman, both 17, gained five As in their AS-levels in biology, physics, history, economics and chemistry.