Four years ago, less than one in five pupils at Hewett Academy in Norwich came away with grades five or above in their GCSEs.

This year, more than half (55pc) of children celebrated these grades, with three-quarters achieving passing grades in both maths and English.

Principal Antony Little said that when he arrived, the city school was a “tanker”.

Now he has watched it gradually close the gap on schools with traditionally stronger reputations, such as Hethersett Academy and nearby Notre Dame.

Principal Antony Little (Image: Denise Bradley)

With the school celebrating one of its strongest set of results on record and due for a major rebuild in years to come, Mr Little is buoyed by its resurgence.

He said: “These results show such a big turnaround for us, which means so, so much to an area that has its disadvantages.

“There is no magic formula but our students have been working incredibly hard and we are taking great strides.

“Our attendance is one of the best in the county now and I’m really proud of what our pupils have achieved.”

Among the school’s success stories was 16-year-old Alezandr Zelenin, a Russian speaker who moved from Moldova three years ago barely speaking a word of English.

Alezandr Zelenin (Image: Denise Bradley)

To begin with, teachers needed to use Google translate to communicate with him, but with hard work he was able to learn the language through reading.

He came away with a passing grade in English language and a 7 in literature – the equivalent of an A grade in the previous system.

He said: "I did expect to do well, I was confident, but not as well as I did. It was a nice surprise."

Marvin Abu (Image: Denise Bradley)

Marvin Abu was forced to adapt quickly when he moved from Nigeria just last year when his mother relocated to work as a carer midway through the GCSE period.

He was able to achieve grade 8 in both English and literature (A* equivalent) and grade 7 in maths.

He said: “It was quite a culture shock coming here, education is very different here and adapting to it was challenging.

“In Nigeria exams were more about memorising facts and knowledge but here it is a lot more to do with understanding and using your knowledge, so it was difficult.”

Ifeoluwa Osupala (Image: Denise Bradley)

Ifeoluwa Osupala made the same move from Nigeria to Norwich and said she found the transition similarly tough.

She too came away with an enviable spread of results, including grade 9s in science and maths.

“We moved because my parents wanted us to get a better education and school is very, very different,” she said.

“After sixth form, I would love to go on to university and study something in medicine.”

Mr Little said the school prides itself on promoting hard work and good attendance, urging pupils to dig deep to find their motivation.

Hajran Attaie (Image: Denise Bradley)

He said 16-year-old Hajran Attaie was “hard work personified” after achieving passing grades in all subjects despite a longstanding struggle with insomnia.

Hajran said: “I tended to sit up all night either using my phone or playing games and would find myself falling asleep in the middle of the day.

“But I got to a point where I realised I desperately needed to make changes and focus on positive energy. I knew I needed to change something.

“I was expecting to fail at least two of my subjects so I’m really proud of myself.”

Digby Ives O’Brien  (Image: Denise Bradley)

Digby Ives O’Brien was among the school’s highest achievers, earning five grade 9s.

He said: “I was definitely expecting to do a lot worse.”

Mr Little added: “Our children have done fantastically well and this is a great step in proving how good the education really is here.