AN Oscar-winning computer expert returned to his old school to help celebrate the academic performance of today’s youngsters.

Dr Mark Hills, who has worked on major cinema hits including Paddington, The Avengers and the Harry Potter movies, returned to Ripon Grammar School to present awards to students for their success in this summer's GCSEs and A levels.

As head of systems at Framestore, he was part of the team that won the 2014 best visual effects Oscar for Gravity, the hit space-jeopardy movie starring Sandra Bullock and George Clooney.

And he told the audience that his experience of film started at the school when he was still a teenager.

"I spent quite a bit of time making short films with my friend Chris, things like music videos and kung-fu style fights, anything we could challenge ourselves with,” he said.

“I also got involved with sound and lighting for school productions. It was more that path that led me into film," he explained.

The son of a former teacher at the school, Dr Hills went on to complete a degree and PhD in computer science and worked as a nightclub and student radio DJ and a professional photographer.

"After university I could have applied my skills to finance or accounting but I found my niche in the film industry because it was something I really enjoyed,” he said.

"It's about looking at anything you are really interested in and what captures your imagination then peeling back the layers to find all the different places where you can apply your skills."

Students who left the grammar school after A-levels returned to receive prizes alongside those who were recognised for

GCSE performance, including 90 who achieved a C or higher in all their subjects.

Nearly 72 per cent of A level grades this summer were A*-B while 63 per cent of all GCSEs were A or A*.

Leavers are now taking degrees in subjects from aerospace engineering to zoology at universities across the UK, with one reading biomedical science in the United States and another studying medicine in Bulgaria.

Headmaster Martin Pearman said: "It is, as ever, a privilege to see students develop so much from the age of 11 through to 18 into people who have such a well-balanced view of life and a determination to make the world a better place. The contribution they have made to the RGS community in their time has been immense."