The determination of pupils has seen a primary school rank among the finest in the country for progress.

Yesterday the Department of Education placed Curwen Primary School 17th out of more than 21,300 schools for pupil progress.

And the Plaistow school beat every other in the borough to claim a place in London’s top 10.

Paul Harris, executive head teacher at the school, thinks the drive of pupils, staff and governors is behind the success.

“We offer a lot for our children and they give a lot back,” he said. “I think the improvement is down to the dedication and hard work of everybody at the school, working with the community and striving for excellence.

“The governors work incredibly hard to keep us on our toes and we have a very low turnover of staff and children, which is rare in London.

“It’s a place where people want to stay and enjoy their time here.”

And he said he was impressed with the childrens’ ability to overcome east London adversity.

“This is an amazing place to work, the pupils are really dedicated and they work incredibly hard,” he said. “For a school that’s in an area with such high deprivation they do amazingly well.”

Paul, who is this year’s Sunday Times Head Teacher of the Year, is also executive head teacher at Manor Park’s Kensington Primary School, which this year went from being 11,000th in terms of pupil progress to 325 under his leadership.

The school is now also in Newham’s top 10 for pupil progress, second in the borough for writing and 25th in London for writing.

The Department of Education’s determine pupil progress by comparing exam and subject level results annually.