Students receiving their GCSE results at a number of Newham’s schools are part of a record-breaking cohort.
At Forest Gate Community School, 71 per cent of students gained five GSCEs at grade C or above, including English and Maths.
The Forest Lane school saw 87pc of students reach the benchmark grade in English, with 78pc doing so in maths.
Among those to achieve the impressive grades was Tanweerur Siddique, who gained two A*s, six As and four Bs.
He said: “I can’t believe it, I never thought I’d do this well.
“The secret to why we’ve all done so well is the communication between the staff and the students. We have a really close connection and that makes such a difference.”
Headteacher Simon Elliott praised the efforts of his pupils.
He said: “These results are just staggering.
“There will be some of the top schools in the country that won’t get our grades in English.
“If you take into consideration that many of our pupils have English as a second language it is just remarkable.”
At Plashet School, 27pc of all grades gained were at A and A* - an increase on the 26.2pc achieved last year.
The all-girls school saw 68pc of its students gain five GCSEs at A*-C including English and maths, with 128 pupils gaining 10 GCSEs within the threshold.
Headteacher Rachel McGowan said: “I believe our young women have achieved great success because they have shown fantastic resilience in their learning, never giving up when times were difficult.
“We are immensely proud of their outstanding attitude to their learning and the success this has brought them is well earned.”
Across the borough, students achieved the best levels of progress Sarah Bonnell School has seen.
The Deanery Road school also closed the gap between disadvantaged girls for whom the school receives pupil premium and their peers.
Last year, the gap in five C grades or above including English and maths was 19pc. This year it was just 2pc.
Headteacher Sarah Jacobs said: “We are extremely proud of all our students and their achievements.
“The continued success of our students is a testament to the hard work and dedication of staff and their high expectations.”
The hard-working teenagers were treated to a free ice cream from a van parked in the playground as a reward.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here