GCSE pupils at a Dagenham school have “reaped the rewards” of their hard work during the pandemic, their headteacher says.

Eastbrook School is celebrating some impressive GCSE results today (August 12), which included Samuel Ratford achieving 10 GCSEs with the top mark of 9 in all of them.

Juma Shikdar also earned 10 GCSEs, eight of which were at grade 9, while Leena Kanhye’s 10 results included four 9s and four 8s.

Barking and Dagenham Post: High achievers Leena Kanhye, Samuel Ratford and Juma Shikdar were all smiles after picking up their GCSE results.High achievers Leena Kanhye, Samuel Ratford and Juma Shikdar were all smiles after picking up their GCSE results. (Image: Eastbrook School)

Eastbrook headteacher Paul Frith said: “I couldn’t be more proud of our Year 11 students.

“The last 18 months have been incredibly challenging for them, as they had to continually adapt to the ever-changing circumstances.

“However, they have displayed extraordinary maturity and resilience throughout the pandemic and the assessment period, and have now reaped the rewards and achieved everything they deserve.

“I know they would want me to publicly thank their teachers who worked tirelessly with them and ensured that every student was given the best opportunity to show what they were capable of.”

Among other impressive performers was Maryam Khan, who made the most progress of anyone in the year group in achieving an average grade of more than four grades above expected.

Saule Simanaviciute, Beloved Olofinsao, Zahra Sheikh and Leeza Manzenzha also made exceptional progress.

READ MORE: Can you pass these 10 GCSE questions designed for 16-year-olds?

In vocational course results, more than half of the pupils in the CACHE childcare course achieved an A* or an A.

Barking and Dagenham Post: Priya Garg, Lacey Johnson Moore, Abdulatif Ghani, headteacher Paul Frith, Hung Chen and Rizwan Ali at Eastbrook School on GCSE results day.Priya Garg, Lacey Johnson Moore, Abdulatif Ghani, headteacher Paul Frith, Hung Chen and Rizwan Ali at Eastbrook School on GCSE results day. (Image: Eastbrook School)

Mr Frith said there were also some excellent results among the school’s SEN cohort and among those who joined the school recently from overseas - a testament to the support these students receive.

The results followed the school’s success in its A Level results earlier in the week.

It capped a busy year for Eastbrook School, which, alongside the challenge of educating during the pandemic and preparing teacher assessed grades, was visited three times by Ofsted.

Mr Frith says the school was highly commended on each occasion for the education it has provided both during and post Covid lockdowns.