There were celebrations across Barking and Dagenham as pupils picked up their A Level and BTEC results.

After exams were cancelled for a second year because of the pandemic, school leavers found out their final grades on Tuesday, August 10 - with some achieving among the top results in the country.

Many secured places prestigious universities including Oxford, Cambridge, London School of Economics, and Imperial College London.

A number earned places on lucrative apprenticeship programmes with multi-national organisations such as Amazon, JP Morgan, Goldman Sachs, Microsoft and BT.

Cllr Evelyn Carpenter, cabinet member for educational attainment and school improvement, said: “Hearing some of the challenges students, teachers, and families have faced just to get to (results day) is simply remarkable, and so hearing the success stories and the exciting opportunities that lay ahead for many of our talented young people makes today all the more special.”

All Saints Catholic School student Simson Vinson achieved the highest grade possible with four A* results in mathematics, further maths, biology, and chemistry.

At Barking Abbey, 20 pupils secured sporting scholarships to universities in America, with more than 150 pupils going on to university in total.

More than 125 pupils at Robert Clack School in Dagenham have been accepted into university, including a record number of Russell Group places.

Six vocational BTEC pupils from Jo Richardson Community School earned a triple distinction - the highest score possible - in BTEC business and CTEC health and social care.

With no exams this year, grades were decided by teachers based on a pupil’s mock exam results, coursework and in-class assessments, with exam boards carrying out sample quality assurance checks.

Like last year, the Department for Education is not publishing performance data for any schools or colleges or borough-wide result due to the varying impact of the pandemic.

Association of School and College Leaders borough representative Roger Leighton said: “Schools have worked incredibly hard to ensure that the grades awarded are based on hard assessment evidence, subject to multiple layers of moderation.

“Students - and the community at large - should therefore have confidence that this year's grades are a fair reflection of ability and effort.”