GCSE results in Waltham Forest have improved at a greater rate over the past four years than the national average, according to figures released last week.
The secondary school tables show a 4.3 per cent increase in the number of pupils achieving grade C and above in five or more subjects since 2001, compared with an overall national increase of 3.7 per cent.
A total of 69 per cent of pupils at Highams Park School passed five GCSEs at grade C or above, the highest pass rate for a state school in the borough.
Along with percentage pass rates, the figures include a "value added" score, which shows a school's level of improvement over time.
Connaught Girls' School, Leytonstone, achieved the highest value added score in the borough. However in 2004, 52 per cent of pupils achieved grade C and above in five or more subjects compared with 64 per cent the previous year.
Normanhurst School, an independent school in Chingford, also witnessed a fall in pass rates from 80 per cent in 2003 to 53 per cent in 2004.
Walthamstow School for Girls and Willowfield School, both in Walthamstow, are in the top five per cent of schools nationally for their rates of improvement between Key Stage 3 and Key Stage 4.
Eve Wilson, head teacher of Willowfield School, said: "All our students should feel very proud of themselves."
Aveling Park School, Walthamstow, saw a marked improvement with 45 per cent of its pupils achieving grade C and above in five or more subjects in 2004, compared with just 24 per cent in 2003.
Heathcote, Chingford, and George Mitchell School, Leyton, have value added scores which show they have progressed at four times the average national rate since 2001.
Barry Hersom, head teacher of Heathcote School, said: "We are delighted. It is now five years in a row that we have improved and in that time they have actually doubled.
"It is down to the hard work of students with the help of their parents and the dedication of the teaching staff."
Helen Jeffrey, head teacher of George Mitchell School, said: "We are particularly pleased with the results, not least because they show that the value we add from when students arrive in year seven to when they leave in Year 11 is well above the national average."
