There was an atmosphere of exhilarated excitement in the halls of Mossbourne Academy this morning as students queued to get their GCSE exam results.
For many it was shrieks of joy and relief as the children reaped the fruits of their hard work.
Headteacher of the Downs Park Road school, in Hackney Central, Mr Peter Hughes, said: “We had some exceptional results; it is brilliant. One student even got straight A*s.”
The school’s overall pass rate for children that achieved 5 A*to Cs was 91 per cent with 88 per cent getting 5 A* to Cs including English and maths.
There were plenty of individual high flyers too, with many of the students getting better results than expected.
Sam Willis, 16 of Royal Close got A* in all 11 of his subjects and an A in advanced maths. He said: “I am delighted. I think it was a combination of hard work and the support of everyone around me – the teachers were instrumental.”
Despite achieving a stunning 11A*s and 2As, 16-year-old Joshua Ilelaboye, of Shellness Road, modestly said he was “content” with his results.
The teenager added: “German let me down and in advanced maths the highest you could get was an A, so I am content I guess.”
Joshua will be studying at Mossbourne’s Sixth Form for his A levels in Chemistry, Physics, Maths and further maths to facilitate his ambition of becoming an engineer.
He said: “I am going to spend the rest of my holidays getting ready for next year. Retrospectively I did not do enough work this time.”
Jesse Tristram, 16, achieved 9A* and 2 As. She said: “I am really pleased and relieved. Last night I was just trying not to think about it.”
Jesse will stay at the school for Sixth Form at to study history, English literature, maths and biology with the hope of becoming a lawyer in the future.
She added: “I am going to spend the rest of the summer celebrating.”
Conall Hill, 16 of Thistlewaite Road, achieved the same and said he was relieved and happy. He will be staying at Mossbourne for A levels, studying maths, further maths, economics and physics.
The proud holder of 6A*s and Arthur Greene, 16, of Clapton Square and said: “I feel really good – really proud. The biggest achievement for me was probably getting my A* in Chemistry.”
He will study A level maths, economics, history and English literature at the school’s Sixth Form.
Natasha Jacobs, 16, of Denver Road, got 9A*s, 1A and a B.
She will now go on to study A level maths, biology, chemistry and English literature and hopes to get into a career in medicine.
She said: “I am really overwhelmed. I feel like crying – I am really happy.”
Kieron Hylton, 16, of Middleton Road felt his results were a sign of his hard work and is now inspired to aim high for a place in a US university or Oxbridge.
The teenager achieved 9A*s and 3As and said: “I feel like all my hard work has paid off and the school has come though for me. I feel like all my teachers wanted me to achieve just as much as I wanted to.
“I am most surprised about German as I thought I did terribly in that exam but now I am going to continue it for A levels.”
Kieron will also continue with maths, chemistry and biology.
Mr Hughes was particularly proud of the success rate for sciences at the school.
He said: “Nationally 8 per cent of students take triple science whereas here at Mossbourne 80 per cent take the triple award.
“We set it up here as we feel it gives them a good foundation. Although it is harder we have managed to secure better results with a 4 per cent increase in science.”
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