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Forest Gate school with links to Eton tops the class in Newham 

The school is best performing at GCSE according to government figures

A person poses in from of shelves of books
Thahmina Begum. Photo: Maja Smiejkowska

Forest Gate Community School is the best performing school in Newham for GCSE results according to government figures. 

The school had a progress score of plus 1.06 which was more than a quarter of a grade higher than the school in second place, Brampton Manor. Other schools performing well above the national average in Newham include Plashet, Sarah Bonnell and Cumberland Community School. 

Forest Gate Community School also runs a scholarship programme helping students from disadvantaged backgrounds win scholarship to fee paying private schools including Eton, where two students in recent years have won scholarships worth £80,000 each. 

Executive headteacher Thahmina Begum, pictured, said: “We are over the moon to be once again the best performing school in Newham. These results will once again put us among the best performing in the country. These results are life changing for our students.” 

Cumberland Community School, which like Forest Gate is a member of the Community Schools Trust, has seen a turnaround in its performance. It was ranked the worst school in Newham in 2019 but is now among the best. 

Headteacher Ehklas Rahman said: “Joining the Community Schools Trust and working in partnership with the team at Forest Gate has been transformative.”

Thahmina Begum ©Maja Smiejkowska


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