Anxious students were waiting outside school from as early as 6.15am this morning to collect an envelope that may determine their future careers.

The doors of St Angela’s and St Bonaventure’s Sixth Form in St George’s Road, Forest Gate, did not even open until 7am .

But the 17-and-18-year-olds had not slept a wink as they were kept awake all night thinking about the nail-biting moment they would receive their ‘A’ Level results.

Screams of delight could be heard from the street outside as students gathered with friends in the hall of the top-performing school in Newham.

Once again the girls out-performed the boys but, on average, the highest grades went to the young men where half - 50.9 per cent - achieved an A*, A, or B grade compared to 48.4 per cent of the young women.

Head Boy Joe Robinson (AAB), from Forest Gate, expects to be back in the classroom in a few years as a teacher after he finishes his degree in Primary Education at Canterbury Christ Church University in Kent.

He said: “My teachers were so good and so helpful and I have so much to thank them for.

“I am really very, very happy I got what I needed to get in.”

Potential jet-setter David Gonzalez (A*AA), who says he is “based” in Caledonia Road, North London, at the moment, is set to take a different route from his peers after he won a prestigious place at multinational accounting firm Ernst & Young.

David, who swaps his job in Topshop for a paid internship next month, said: “I always thought I’d go to university but I went on work experience at their office in the City and I absolutely fell in love with that company.

“I might still go to university but I will get paid, I will have their advice and input from the start and there’s a chance they could pay my fees.”

Christy Thevathasan (A*A*A), from Clayhall in Redbridge was flying high after scoring his top grades which means he can study Aeronautical Engineering at Imperial College, London.

He said: “I’ve loved planes ever since I was a kid. I played with building blocks and Lego and I’m always fascinated by the flaps of the wings coming up when I’m flying. All of that, I love it.”

Sammy Pontin (A*AB) was feeling pretty sleepy after he spent the night worrying about his results on his neighbour’s sofa as he has just returned from an exchange trip in Pisa, Italy.

He’s swapping Stratford for Yorkshire this September to explore his love of 18th and 19th century European history. He added: “I chose York because it’s a great course for that and I really like the accent.”

Keep an eye on Luke Flynn (A*AB) who plans to take the politics world by storm once he’s finished his degree in History and International Relations at the London School of Economics.

Luke, who will be moving from Canning Town to High Holborn next month, said: “I know it’s a bit of a cliche but politics is part of everything and it determines people’s lives. I just want to make a change.”