One hundred and twenty-six students have placed in the top place in last year’s OLevel examinations.

Vice President Abdullah Jihad presented the top achievers with their awards in a ceremony held in Dharubaaruge on Thursday night.

Forty-eight local students were placed in the highest rankings globally.

Education Ministry statistics show that 589 students were placed in the top 10, with 17 percent of students achieving A grades and 22 percent achieving B grades.

A 79 percent increase was observed in students passing with three subjects.

Last year, 5410 students sat the examinations.