Katharine Birbalsingh has celebrated top GCSE results at Michaela Community School in Brent, with over 50 per cent of entries securing grade 9.
The outcome at the north London academy represents ten times the national average of 5 per cent for the top grade. In addition, 82 per cent of all grades at the school reached at least grade 7, equivalent to the old A grade, compared with around 22 per cent nationwide.
More than four-fifths of pupils at the school achieved at least one grade 9, while nearly one-fifth obtained eight or more grade 9s. Across all entries at Michaela, 99 per cent of grades were between 4 and 9, and 98 per cent were between 5 and 9.
Speaking about the results, Birbalsingh said: "I'm delighted. The teamwork at Michaela between the teachers and the kids, and the love that the staff have for the children, is what pulls them through."
She added: "It means the kids are able to really hit their potential in ways that people wouldn't possibly imagine. Every year I'm astonished by how well we do. It seems so unbelievable, for example, that it's possible to get 50 per cent grade 9s. I feel really proud to be leading a school which is able to demonstrate what's possible in the inner city."
The announcement came as hundreds of thousands of pupils across the United Kingdom collected their GCSE results on Thursday morning. Secondary school qualifications in England are graded on a 9 to 1 numerical scale, while Wales and Northern Ireland retain the traditional A* to G system.
Results matching top private schools
Michaela's performance places its outcomes close to Eton College in Windsor. Eton has not published its 2026 results, but in 2025 the independent school recorded 61.9 per cent grade 9s and 94 per cent grades 7 or above.
Eton charges fees exceeding £65,000 per year and has educated 20 British prime ministers alongside Prince William and Prince Harry. In contrast, Michaela receives state funding of just over a tenth of Eton's fee level per child from the Government.
Unlike selective private institutions, Michaela operates a completely comprehensive, mixed-ability intake selected via a local council lottery in Brent. Many pupils entering the school previously missed out on places at local grammar schools, including Henrietta Barnett School and Queen Elizabeth's School.
Birbalsingh highlighted the school's modest physical infrastructure. "Our results are certainly in the range of private schools," she said. "Even though we have no trees and no grass, no fields. We have no sports hall. We don't even have a car park."
She added: "But rather than concentrating on what we don't have, or each child thinking about the boys at Eton having it better, we think, 'how can I make the most of what I've got'. The whole school is emblematic of that and for the kids that idea is rooted in their souls."
Criticism and social media reaction
Birbalsingh, 53, has earned the moniker of Britain's strictest head mistress for her strict approach to discipline, uniform standards, and core academic subjects. Pupils joining the school start with a seven-day behaviour boot camp.
Despite the high grades, Birbalsingh revealed that results day brings intense criticism on social media, largely from teachers at other institutions. "Every year in August, they go mad attacking us," she said. "It's when our results come out that we get the most hate."
Following A-level results day the previous week, she shared footage on X of pupils opening their results envelopes. "Their problem last week was that I was celebrating," she said. "How dare I celebrate? It's just insane. I put out a few videos saying, 'Hooray, these kids have got these results. Isn't it nice.'"
She said critics accused her of crowing. "But ultimately, it's rooted in the fact that I'm very vocal about the fact that I think traditionalism works, that I think children need to be held to account, that I believe in strong discipline, I believe in the adult being the authority in the room," she said. "They don't like that. And so, when we do well, and it sort of proves that traditionalism works, they don't like it."
Background and traditional ethos
Birbalsingh, an Oxford University graduate who was born in New Zealand and grew up in Canada, previously taught in inner London state schools. She first attracted public attention at the Conservative Party conference in 2010 after criticizing low standards in British schools, which led to a rift with her employer at the time.
She established Michaela as an academy in 2014 under the government's free schools programme. Reflecting on years of public debate, she said: "Well, it's not nice. Obviously, one doesn't like being hated. Especially when all I'm doing is trying to show people what works."
She noted that around 1,000 teachers visit Michaela each year. "The majority of teachers quietly come and visit us and learn from what we do and take those ideas back to their classrooms," she said. "And good for them. But there are just some very loud teachers on X who are just constantly criticizing."
Birbalsingh outlined her educational philosophy as rooted in small-c conservative values, including personal responsibility, duty to others, self-sacrifice, and teamwork. "Young people these days are encouraged to embrace a sense of victimhood and to see themselves as oppressed by various powers, and as a member of a particular victim group," she said. "We reject all of that wholesale and very much believe in jumping over the obstacles that are in front of us."
Clashes with Education Secretary
Birbalsingh took aim at Education Secretary Lucy Powell, who stated earlier in the summer that focusing too narrowly on academic achievement was failing disadvantaged pupils. Birbalsingh argued that Powell's proposals could dismantle previous educational reforms.
"Standards will be completely obliterated, and English, maths, and science will fall out the window," Birbalsingh said. She claimed Powell was acting "without much knowledge of the education system and what will realistically happen on the ground", adding that the policies would harm state school students rather than those at fee-paying schools like Eton.
"It's not the kids at Eton who will stop getting their English, maths, and science, is it? It's the kids in the inner city and in the coastal towns," she said. "We need to be increasing the number of kids who get these subjects, not decreasing it."
A spokesperson for the Department for Education rejected the criticisms. "It is ridiculous to suggest this government wants anything other than excellence for every child in English, maths and science," the spokesperson said. "But forcing every young person down the same narrow academic route is leaving far too many out in the cold. Every child should leave education with a passport to their future, high-quality options, academic, technical, creative or a mix, and the chance to follow the path that is right for them."
Views on gentle parenting and study tips
Birbalsingh also linked modern behavioral issues among young people to gentle parenting trends, arguing that a lack of clear boundaries causes distress. "We talk about Gen Z not being able to take responsibility, being snowflakey, being worried about their feelings all the time," she said. "That is, I think, a direct result of gentle parenting, because they're not told you need to take responsibility for whatever choices you've made."
She added that high expectations reflect care for students. "People think that strict means mean, but it doesn't," she said. "It means that I love them enough to keep my standards high for them." Addressing pupils disappointed with their GCSE grades, she said: "Yeah, well, you know, sometimes we fall down. Pick yourselves up. Keep on going."
For parents seeking to support their children, Birbalsingh recommended daily reading and removing smartphones. She advised counting activities for younger children and strict daily study schedules with supplementary CGP revision guides for older pupils. "Do not give your child a smartphone," she said, warning parents not to rely solely on set homework.
Birbalsingh launched her new podcast, Strictly Education, on YouTube on Wednesday.
