A Forest Gate Community School pupil earned the top grade in 11 GCSEs - after doing most of his revision before March.
Yusuf Salad, 15, shunned late night prep in favour of relaxing so he could enter the exam hall with a calm mind.
The teenager was blown away by how successful his strategy was - having expected to score 7s and 8s.
Yusuf, a pupil at Forest Gate Community School, said: "I got all 9s in 11 subjects.
"I'm delighted. I'm actually relieved. I really didn't expect this. Not in my wildest dreams.
"I expected a couple of 8s and 7s. I was most worried about English language but I got a 9.
"I did most of my revision before March and then after March I tried to focus on my mental health and reduce the stress on me.
"Instead of staying up all night I just spent two hours doing revision and then the rest of the afternoon I spent relaxing. I wasn't complacent though.
"I felt most stressful about the GCSEs the two days before they started."
With his set of top marks, Yusuf is planning to go to Brampton Manor Academy to do maths, further maths, physics and economics.
Meanwhile, Andrei Macsim has secured the grades to secure a scholarship at the independent City of London sixth form.
The 16-year-old said: "I got a 9 in everything except in English language and RE, where I got an 8 and a 7. I feel relieved - the stress was getting to me. It's nice to know I've finally got it out of the way.
"I can now finally enjoy these last two weeks without any stress. I'm going to go home and take a nap. I didn't get much sleep last night. But I'll go and celebrate with my friends a bit as well.
"The toughest bit was before the exams started because once I got in there, I realised the exams weren't too different to the stuff I had done before.
"After you do the first exam you then realise it's just what you've done before. The teachers prepared us well."
Another success story was Humayrah Patel who secured 9s in English language, English literature and geography after being handed her results in a golden envelope.
She will be going on to study biology, chemistry, psychology and geography at Isaac Newton Academy.
The Forest Lane school has been ranked in the top 50 schools nationally in the past three years, and it could well make the cut again after matching previous progress 8 score results.
The measure marks the progression a pupil makes between starting the school aged 11 and when they leave after their GCSEs.
Charlotte Whelan, head of Forest Gate Community School, said: "These results are absolutely amazing.
"We are really proud. With the new grades and GCSEs embedded it's good to really still be up there.
"It's a very hardworking year group. The key is persistence. They kept working right until the last exam. The teachers do as much for these children as they would for their own."
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