Sixth formers across the borough were celebrating on Tuesday after the majority of schools saw improved GCSE results.

Of the 12 schools that responded to our survey, 10 of them increased the percentage of pupils gaining five or more A* to C grades.

The news was particularly pleasing for students at Elliott School, which saw a rise in 14 percentage points despite being put into special measures last year.

Mark Phillips, the new headteacher, said: “There’s been a much stronger focus this year on making sure every student’s needs were being met and that they were being monitored rigorously.

“The school has turned a corner. We are back in business and the gates are open again. We want to engage in the local community as much as we can.”

All of the schools saw a high percentage of pupils gaining five A* to C grades, but many were failing to count English and Maths in these.

Less than half of pupils at Southfields Community College, Chestnut Grove School and John Paul II School gained good grades in these subjects.

But for John Paul II, which only scored 26 per cent in this category last year, the new figure of 47 per cent was cause for elation.

Headteacher Eddie Conway, who is to leave this week for another job, said the school was one of the most improved in the country this year.

He said: “I have seen it through the bad times and it’s lovely to see it on the up and doing well on my last day. It’s very poignant.

“There’s been a complete shift in attitude and expectation.”

Meanwhile across the borough, at Battersea Park School, teachers were celebrating the achievements of 15-year-old prodigy, Monica Santos Peres Mota.

The academic dynamo, who has been taking GCSEs since she was 13, gained 11 A*, 3A, 3B grades at GCSE as well as two AS levels at grade A.

Click here for breakdown of GCSE results