After GCSE results have now been collected from across Tower Hamlets schools it can be revealed the borough has gone against the national trend of falling GCSE grades with a one percent increase in grades.

In one subject particularly the borough stands out after 71 per cent of students gained A* to C grades in English, excluding Literature, compared with 64.2 per cent nationally.

It follows accusations nationally that English exams were this year marked down.

The number of students scoring five A* to C grades, across subjects including English and Math, in Tower Hamlets have come in at 62.4 per cent, up from 61.4 per cent last year.

The figure has almost doubled from 34 percent between 2005 to 2006, according to Tower Hamlets Council.

The number of students achieving A* to C grades across subjects, excluding English and Math, is up by half a per cent.

The percentage scoring A* to C grades in English in Tower Hamlets is 71 per cent compared to 70.5 per cent last year.

In Math the number of pupils gaining A*-C in Tower Hamlets is 74 per cent compared to 69.4 per cent last year. This also compares with this year’s provisional national figure for Maths standing at 58.3 per cent.

Tower Hamlets Mayor, Lutfur Rahman, said: “Our commitment to raising education attainment in Tower Hamlets has translated into a success story that bucks the national GCSE pass rate trend.

“The secret to out success can be found in the excellent partnership working that exists between parents, schools and the council; the multi million pound Building Schools for the Future investment programme that has transformed our schools; the introduction of the Mayor’s Education Award to support students financially when the government scrapped the Education Maintenance Allowance, and our most recent initiative, Aim Higher, which will be launched this year, to support students in their career choices.

“We will continue to look at ways to support our young people to achieve their very best”