Pupils at Wanstead High School have bucked the national trend by improving on the results their peers secured last year.

Sixty-eight per cent of students at the school in Redbridge Lane West, Wanstead, bagged five or more A* to C grades, including in English and maths – 6pc up on last year and 10pc up on 2011.

The class of 2013 came close to the school’s best ever GCSE results, achieved in 2010.

Seventy-six per cent of pupils gained five or more A* to C grades, while 29pc of all grades gained were A* or A.

Fifty-four per cent of all grades were A* to B.

Headteacher Chris Van Bussel said: “We congratulate all our students and staff on these results, achieved through the hard work of students and the dedication of our staff.”

Among the school’s highest achieving students were Chloe Ogweng, who chalked up nine A*s and one A, and Samuel Wilson, who secured nine A*s.