One headteacher said students looked at their marks “in disbelief” and it took them ten minutes for them to take in what grades they had got when they collected their results at The Ursuline Academy, Morland Road, Ilford.

The school achieved a 95.8 per cent pass rate for students getting five A*-C grades and 89 per cent including English and maths, which has only been beaten once by the 2008 year group.

Headteacher, Alex Burke, said: “The results are just terrific. We are delighted with this class because they were achieving great grades from the very beginning which meant our expectation were high but we never doubted them and it is nice to get it confirmed.

“They have all put the hard work in, alongside the staff, and their determination to achieve meant they went the extra mile. There was a great atmosphere this morning and each year just do better and better.”