Pupils have spoken of their joy and relief after receiving top grades in their GCSEs. 

Hundreds of sixteen year-olds with parents and loved ones gathered at Trinity Catholic High School in Mornington Road, Woodford Green, this morning from around 10am. 

The school's overall results are in line with last year's grades, with 87 per cent of pupils achieving five A* to C grades and a 100 per cent pass rate in computer science, French, Spanish and Statistics.  

Shaking with nerves, Lucy McCormack, 16, picked up her results on her own after telling her father to stay at home and wait for news. 

She said: "I wasn't predicted one A grade, but I got one A star, five As and two Bs. 

"I feel ecstatic, mad, like a crazy woman. Before my exams I didn't sleep because I had revised so much I had overdone it. 

"I can't believe my results. My parents will be so proud."

Throughout the exam period in May and June Natassja Aitken, 16, was ill with flu-type symptoms and could barely move, but today she was celebrating with her mother for getting eleven GCSEs at grade A* to B. 

She said: "I didn’t think I was going to do very well at all. 

"I was really ill during revision and my exams and didn't feel like moving from my bed. 

"I'm very surprised by my GCSEs and you can see they've changed the structure, particularly English which is my strong subject and I got a B.

"I feel very overwhelmed with happiness and emotion. My Mum is in bits and my Dad, bless him, is crying in his office."   

Kieran Stapleton said he preferred the new exam structure after achieving four A stars and five As. 

He said: "I'm ecstatic, really happy to be honest and quite shocked. 

"I got nervous coming here today, you never really know exactly what to expect but I prefer tests to coursework so I suppose it’s all paid off."

Headteacher Dr Paul Doherty said he is "truly delighted" by the pupils' achievements.

He added: "Trinity Catholic High School was truly delighted at our GCSE examination results for 2014.  We have maintained line and the same excellent service as last year.

"This success was repeated by many, many students who expressed their delight at the completion of a very successful year. 

"Trinity is especially pleased at maintaining this level of excellence against a background which indicates that there is a drive to make GCSE examinations, particularly in the core subjects, more rigorous."