There were tears of joy this morning at The Urswick School as students - who for the first time ever had not even sat exams - collected their A-Level results.

Staff and students at the school in Paragon Road, Hackney Central, were thrilled with their successes and students have secured places at Universities across the country including Warwick, The London School of Economics and Political Sciences, Southampton and Goldsmiths University.

Richard Brown, executive headteacher, said, “This group of young people have worked as hard as any group during my 12 years as headteacher.

“Through no fault of their own, the chance to sit their A Levels was taken from them just weeks before the exams.

“They deserve as much praise and credit as any other year.

“I am delighted that students have achieved the grades they needed to go to the university of their choice.”

He added: “We are concerned that a small number of our predictions have been downgraded – and puzzled that other predictions in different subjects have been increased.

“I fear that exam boards have concentrated too much on looking at historical data and so have got themselves into a muddle.

“The most important thing is we must not allow the ambitions and life chances of this group of young people to be defined by Covid-19”.

Mayor Phil Glanville also visited the school to congratulate the students on their success.

Anh Vu, 18, achieved A* in history, A in maths, A in extended project qualification (EPQ) and B in economics, and is going on to study politics and economics at LSE.

She thanked her maths and history teachers for “the last seven years of support”.

“I’m excited for the new opportunity that LSE will bring and I couldn’t have done it without my teachers,” she said.

Asif Ahmed, 18 achieved three B grades in English, history and law, which has secured him a place at King’s College London to study history.

Fatou Jallow, 18 was over the moon with A* and two B grades in sociology, politics and biology, which has secured her a place to study biomedical science at Warwick University.

She said: “All the teachers here saw potential in us where we saw none, directed and guided us on paths we thought were non-existent and brought out the best in us”.

Husnah Nakalema, 18, achieved an A in sociology, B in English Literature and D in biology, and is going to study science at Nottingham University.

She also thanked her teachers, saying: “Each subject that I’ve learnt has been so interesting. I have so many good memories but especially being taught about genetics. I hope to go on to be a health care worker and help others.”

Augustine Kodom, 18, achieved B in computer science, C in economics, C in EPQ and a merit in sport BTEC, and will go on to study computer science at Northampton University.

Augustine said: “Thank you to the school for believing in me. Being appointed as head boy gave me the confidence boost to go on to achieve greatness and hopefully more in the future.”