An orphan from Forest Gate who lost both his parents before he was seven overcame the death of his inspirational grandmother to scored top marks in his GCSEs.
Jack Powell, 16, went to live with grandmother Gwen and uncle Peter following the death of his father Chris, who was a professional wrestler, when he was just three.
Then, aged seven, his mum Sheena who he saw only on contact visits at weekends passed away - leaving Gwen and Peter tp look after him.
Jack says it was Gwen who pushed him to study hard at school but just six months before his first GCSE exam she too sadly died, aged 85.
Today, Jack, discovered he had scored mostly 8 and 9s in his GCSE, which is the equivalent to As and A*.
He had planned to bring his gran along to the school to collect the results and has dedicated his success to her memory.
Jack studied at Forest Gate Community, which is Ofsted rated Outstanding and ranked sixth best in the country for GCSE results last year.
This year over half of students scored grades 7-9, the equivalent of A* and A, with grades once again expected to be among the very best in the UK.
Jack said: “She was the central person in my life from the age of three. She was the one who taught me everything I know and pushed me to do well at school.
“It is sad because we had planned for her to come here together to collect my results because she has been the biggest part of my success.
“I know she will be looking down on me now and she would be so, so proud of what I have achieved. I just wish she was here to share it with me.
“She was the most amazing person you could ever meet. Everything I have achieved and will achieve I dedicate to her.
Jack says his grades began to slip around the time of her death in December last year but says he got back on track because he did not want to let her down.
He added: “When I got some of my mocks results through my grades in some subjects had started to slip. That is when I knew that I had to really start putting the effort in.
“She would have hated to think that I was not going to do my best so I started revising extra hard.”
Last year, he applied for Eton College through Forest Gate Community’s scholarship programme but narrowly missed out on a place.
Jack, who lives with his uncle in the same house, plans to study A-level maths, further maths, economics and politics at a local sixth form.
After finishing his exams in June this year, Jack was given a job at his school working in the admin office.
He added: “This school is just an incredible place. They really go above and beyond for you, particularly Simon Elliott, the executive headteacher, we have a very close bond.”
Mr Elliott said: “It is hard to put into words or describe a young man with the character of Jack.
“To say he is an inspiration just is not enough, he is exceptional. Many of us have great challenges in our lives but none I have met faced them with the courage, grit and spirt that he has.
“I am not only proud to have taught and mentioned this young man, I am proud to know him. I wish we could keep him here at the school but I know he is destined to outshine us all.”
Jack’s dad Chris Powell was a professional wrestler in the 1980s and 1990s. His stage name was demo.
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