Like most teenagers across the country Haggerston School student Treyvaunshae Carty was looking forward to celebrating his GCSE results.

But for Trey opening the envelope was made especially poignant after a terrifying experience two years before saw the 16-year-old survive a violent hurricane at his former home of Anguilla.

Hurricane Irma ripped through the island with winds of up to 180mph destroying 70 per cent of the buildings, flattening homes and the surrounding infrastructure.

Trey said: "It was so scary, my home was damaged and all the windows were smashed. Several months after the hurricane we moved to England."

The hardworking teenager started at the school just 12 months ago where he initially struggled with his subjects but thanks to the unwavering support of excellent teachers his grades rapidly improved.

Trey was especially delighted to receive a six in English literature - his favourite subject.

"I was getting Us when I first arrived and found it very hard," he said. "I could not believe how advanced London was compared with Anguilla and the school is much better.

"I also had not been in education for a while as the schools were destroyed in the hurricane. When I arrived in Hackney, I felt nervous at first but made friends almost straight away and the teachers are so nice."

Recalling the sheer terror he experienced during the category five storm Trey says he feared for his life.

"It was the first serious hurricane I had been though. It was very noisy and I was at my home which got damaged and flooded. I was so scared, I thought I might die" he said.

"I remember driving in the car and there was this old tree just lying ripped up, we had no power and no water."

Head Ciara Emmerson said: "Trey has overcome considerable personal challenges. He has managed to come to a new country and take up subjects that he had not studied before.

"He was struggling a lot in the beginning and through sheer determination he has come out with a really respectable set of GCSEs and will return to sixth form. He has a bright future ahead of him and I am proud of all the support staff have given him."

Haggerston School saw a huge spike in grades including in the core subjects of English and maths.

There were also big jumps in history, geography, art and drama, Spanish, PE and computer science.