Across Brent, 60 per cent of pupils achieved this ‘gold standard’ of five A* to C GCSE grades including maths and English – far higher than the 53.1 per cent national average.

A school is celebrating its GCSE success after scoring more than twice the national average in the new English Baccalaureate.

New figures from the Department of Education show that 37 per cent of year 11 students at Claremont High School, achieved five A* to C grades in English, maths, a science, a language and a humanity (geography or history) in 2010.

This is twice the Brent average, which is 18 per cent, and far higher than the national average of 15 per cent.

And 76 per cent of pupils at the school, in Claremont Avenue, Kingsbury, scored five A* to C grades including maths and English.

Across Brent, 60.1 per cent of pupils achieved this ‘gold standard’ – far higher than the 53.1 per cent national average.

Introduced two months ago in a Government white paper, the baccalaureate was brought in by education Secretary Michael Gove as a means of measuring a school’s success in ‘tougher’ subjects.

Terry Molloy, headteacher at Claremont, said: “We are delighted that despite the English Baccalaureate being a retrospective measure, our school has achieved at more than twice the national average.

“We will ensure that we look at what changes might be needed to our curriculum to deliver the best possible education for our students, to improve their life chances and those of the communities we serve.”

Claremont scored the second best GCSE results in Brent, behind the prestigious Jewish Free School in The Mall, Kingsbury, where half its pupils achieved the English Baccalaureate and 88 per cent scored five A* to C grades including maths and English.

The figures show that schools in the north of the borough tended to do better than those in the south.

Three quarters of GCSE students at Wembley High achieved five A* to C grades, up form 51 per cent just two years ago.

However, while on average Brent outperformed schools nationally, some slipped down the league tables.

Only 37 per cent of year 11s at Copland Community School, in Cecil Avenue, Wembley, achieved five A* to C grades including maths and English – down on 45 per cent the previous year.

For the full breakdown of how Brent’s schools performed, see this Thursday’s Times.