There were tears of joy and smiles at Grays Convent High School this morning as students celebrated another year of ‘amazing’ GCSE results.

Students and staff this year celebrated 69 per cent of students getting five or more A* to C grades, including English and Maths.

Overall, twenty four per cent of students at the school achieved A* or A grades, with an ‘impressive’ 55 per cent getting A to B grades.

The school also celebrated a high performance in English, Maths and Science, with 99% achieving A to C in English Literature, and the school’s best ever 79% in Maths.

Headteacher Penny Johnson said she was “absolutely thrilled” with the results, and particularly proud of her teaching team and young women who had come through challenging circumstances to achieve their grades.

Mrs Johnson said: “I am absolutely thrilled with this year’s GCSE results, maintaining our high standards of last year.

“We have had superb achievements across the board, particularly in some of the more challenging subjects, and for some girls who faced really challenging circumstances, this demonstrates just how talented our young women are.

“I am very lucky to have such an amazing group of teachers who are so committed to inspiring their potential. Congratulations Class of 2016! ”

The school’s highest achiever and top girl Erin Casson, 16, of Chadwell Road, got 5 A*s and 5 As and said she is now going to study science at Coopers as she wants to be a doctor.

She said: “I’m really pleased as it wasn’t what I was expecting. I actually cried last night because I thought I hadn’t done well at all. But when we got the results this morning, it was my mum crying because she was so happy.”

There were shouts of joy and more tears from Patricia Omodele, 16, from South Ockendon, after she got an A*, an A, 6 Bs, 6 Cs and 1 D.

She said: “I got an A* in Science – I’m so happy, I wasn’t expecting it at all.”

India Smith, 16, of Rectory Road said she was “over the moon” with her results of 2 A*s in Spanish and Maths, 6 As and a B.

She said: “The grade boundaries were quite high this year so I wasn’t expecting to do this well. I’m thrilled. I really wanted an A* in Mathematics.”

Mrs Johnson added she also knew how parents felt this year as her own daughter Olivia was also picking up her results.

Daughter Olivia, 16, beaming with 6 As and 4 Bs, said: “I’m so overwhelmed by what I got. It. I did well – better than I was expecting. My mum’s really happy too!”