NERVES turned to excitement as students ripped over their GCSE exam grades this morning.

Braeside School, in Buckhurst Hill, celebrated 86 per cent of students achieving A* to C and 31 per cent of students achieving A* or an A.

Pupils also received 90 to 100 per cent A* to Cs in other subjects, including art, business, drama, English literature and geography.

Three quarters of Year 11s achieved eight or more A* to C grades with students Farah, Muskan and Shreena achieving 27 A* or A grades between them.

Gillian Haddon, outgoing Braeside Headmistress, is delighted with the results: “I’m so pleased that the girls’ hard work preparing for their GCSE exams has produced such an outstanding set of results.

“Against the national trends, most pupils out-performed their targets and with top grades in every subject, I’m very grateful to Braeside’s team of teachers whose dedication and support ensured that their pupils were prepared so thoroughly.”

Individual success stories were part of an overall improvement against the national benchmark at Debden Park High School in Willingale Road, Loughton, where 72 per cent of pupils achieved A* to C grades including English and maths, up from 63 per cent last year.

School records were smashed by Charlotte James-Hodson, who achieved a clean sweep of A* grades in her 12 subjects after missing year seven due to cancer.

After returning in year eight, she dedicated herself to her studies and her story was hailed as inspirational by both teachers and pupils.

Chloe Abbott, 16, was overwhelmed with emotion after achieving her grade goals following months of “intense” work.

Receiving three A*s, six As, a B and a C, she said: “All the hard work I put in has paid off.

“I literally stayed at school every day then got home and revised every single day.

“It was really intense.”

Chloe said she now plans to go to nearby Davenant Foundation School where she wants to study science subjects and P.E.

Christian Cavanagh is the school’s executive head teacher.

He said: “Our students have made exceptional progress yet again and we are thrilled that these results will allow all of them to take the next steps in their futures.”

He added he was “very excited” about the upcoming opening of a new tailor-made building for the school’s sixth form, which only started in 2015.

Almost a quarter of pupils achieved at least five or more A* and A grades.

Head of school Helen Gascoyne called this “the perfect foundation” for sixth form.

She added: “The school’s results firmly secure Debden Park High School as a centre of academic excellence both within the local community and nationally.”

At Epping St John's in Bury Lane, new head teacher Allan Osborne celebrated "marginal" gains for pupils in what the school called "the best GCSE results in recent years".

The percentage of pupils achieving five or more A* to C grades in English and maths rose to 47 per cent, with 70 per cent achieving C or above in English and 50 per cent in maths.

Among the success stories were twins Alex and William Mehew, who achieved 18 A*s between them.

Mr Osborne said: "Today our community can celebrate the wonderful achievements of our hard working students and skilled teaching staff.

"Since I arrived in January, I have overseen significant changes and I am proud that our new 'Journey to Outstanding' strategy is evidenced in these marginal gains for students, giving them better opportunities for the future.

"We shall celebrate success today and build upon these gains to accelerate progress tomorrow."

In Chigwell, 78 per cent of all grades award at West Hatch High School were A* to C, with "well over a third" receiving 10 or more higher level passes.

The top performers were Nilofer Sait, Pheobe Clements, Ben Stephens, Harry Carter and Amelia Rayment, who all received nine A* or A grades.

Head teacher Frances Howarth said: "Yet again all the hard work of our students and staff has paid off.

"After weeks of waiting we are very pleased for them.

"So many of our students will now be able to progress to sixth form study at West Hatch.

“We are also very proud of those students who found their work hard yet overcame their difficulties achieving very good results too."

At Davenant Foundation School, 82 per cent of pupils achieved A* to C in English and maths, with 82 per cent also receiving A* to C in all subjects.

Sam Dutnall and Femi Fakokunde both received 10 A*s, while Antonia Ioannou achieved nine A*s and three As.

Head teacher Chris Seward, who is retiring at the end of the month, emphasised the importance of GCSE exams.

He said: "Every year we see students achieve ambitious targets.

"Their hard work, as well as that of their teachers, makes a real difference to the options they have at the age of 16.

"I am very pleased to think that so many students will return to the Davenant sixth form and, along with many students joining from elsewhere, they will be embarking on the next stage of their academic journey.

"They have my very best wishes."