Cockermouth School has won award for the number of female pupils who study physics.

The Good Schools Guide has given the secondary school an award for its excellent performance. 

Eighty per cent of the pupils taking physics GCSE in the summer gained an A or A*.

The girls got marginally higher marks than the boys.

And the girls have no intention of leaving the boys to have all the fun, which is why half of the 130 students doing physics A-level are female.

This is way above the national average.

According to the Institute of Physics, only 20 per cent of A-level physics students in the UK are female.

Sally Carruthers, head of physics and science, said: "It's shocking.

"It just seems entirely natural here for girls to do physics.

"There's no differentiation between boys and girls in terms of performance and attainment."

Miss Carruthers studied at Cambridge University.

She said: "There were virtually no women on the course."

A-level student Leigh Richardson, 16, said: "It's all about what's happening in the world around us and discovering how and why we are here."

Chloe Hodgson, 15, is doing physics GCSE and plans to do A-level. 

She said: "It's interesting to find out the answers to why so many things happen. I always enjoy the lessons."

Miss Carruthers puts the success of the subject - for boys and girls - down to her great team.

She added: "It all boils down to the quality of the lessons. We love coming up with new things and there's a great academic community within the department.

"I come in at 7.30am every day and there will kids sitting there wanting to get something sorted.

"They are so enthusiastic. We must have done something right!"