TEENAGERS across the East End are celebrating record exam marks which have seen more than half of students gaining five or more good GCSEs for the first time ever.

Provisional results released on Tuesday show that 51 per cent of 16-year-olds achieved at least 5 A*-C grades including English and maths, up around five percentage points on last year.

Council bosses say the figure for students achieving five or more A*-C grades in any subject has also increased significantly and schools across the borough have been reporting record improvements.

When national figures become available it is expected that Tower Hamlets students will be on a par with the national average.

Tower Hamlets council’s education leader Cllr Shiria Khatun joined students at Bethnal Green Technology College and Stepney Green Maths and Computing College as they opened their results.

She said: “The phenomenal improvement we are seeing across our schools is clear evidence that Tower Hamlets is a leading borough when it comes to raising attainment.

“The transformation of schools like St Paul’s Way clearly shows that adopting innovative methods and investing in education to raise standards is paying off.

“It was an honour to be able to share in the celebrations of these young people. My congratulations to them, and I know they will go on to achieve even greater success.”