Eastbury Comprehensive School was awarded on Friday the prestigious Times Educational Supplement (TES) award for literacy and English.

A distinguished panel of judges made the decision after hearing about the Barking school’s teaching and seeing the exam results: in 2012 84 per cent of students achieved grades A* to C in their English Language GCSE.

TES editor Gerard Kelly said: “Eastbury School deserves recognition for rigorous training for teachers, combined with innovative programmes for all abilities and key stages.”

Headteacher David Dickson commented: “I am extremely proud that the hard work of staff and students is gaining well deserved national recognition.”

Deane Marwa, head of English, added: “We at Eastbury realise that literacy lays the foundations for all learning and we are delighted to excel in this area.”

It was the first time that a TES Schools Award had been dedicated to literacy and English, among a range of other select subjects.