Students made history in many of the borough's schools with some of the highest GCSE results ever.

An astonishing 91 per cent of grades at North London Collegiate in Canons Drive, Edgware, were As and A*s and there was no result below C. Queen Elizabeth's School in Queens Road, Barnet, upheld the high standards set by A Level students last week with 66 per cent of students achieving As and A*s.

The headteacher of Mill Hill County High, Dr Alan Davison, was beaming with pride as the Worcester Crescent school produced the best results in its history. Star pupil Joel Samasuwo was shaking as he opened an envelope containing nine A*s and two As.

"I am elated," said Joel. "I have worked so hard for this. I hope to repeat the success at A Level."

Dr Davison said: "This is our highest performance ever. It is all down to the hard work of students and staff, they have done exceptionally well."

Christ Church C of E School in Warnham Road, North Finchley, showed significant progress after two years in special measures, with particularly strong results in art and religious education.

"I am really pleased to see such a huge improvement," said art teacher Vanessa Rubin. "The school is definitely on the up and results speak for themselves."

Nearly 70 per cent of students achieved grades A to C in the art department.

"A thing like this shows deep rooted change, not just window dressing," said chairman of the governors Reverend Adrian Benjamin. "Our results for Year 9 show when they get to this level in two years time we will have a major leap forward."

August 22, 2002 17:30