Record-breaking GCSE results landed Coombe Girls’ School in 13th place on the Daily Telegraph’s list of the country’s best comprehensives.

Eighty-eight per cent of pupils at the New Malden academy gained five A* to C grades, while more than a third of all grades were an A* or A.

And 94 per cent achieved an A* to C grade in both maths and English.

Assistant headteacher Richard Jones said: “This year we’ve dramatically gone up in all our areas, in A-level as well as GCSE.

“It wasn’t a shock to us—we knew that the cohort was very able.

“The teachers now are just stepping up their game. The staff constantly work hard.

“The strength of the school is that the staff provide the students support not just in lessons but in breakfast meetings and other interventions.”

Mr Jones, who has been at Coombe Girls’ for 23 years, attributed the success to a culture of early intervention when pupils struggle and close monitoring of their work throughout their five years there.

He added: “More than anything we’ve put in quite rigid structures. Students feel that they are supported and can ask their teachers.

“Throughout their five-year journey they’ve had everything like academic mentoring days and learning targets.

“From Year 7 they get used to it so when they come to the exams they are prepared.”

Tiffin Girls’ School was ranked at number two on the Telegraph’s selective state school list, behind the Henrietta Barnett School in north London. 91.1 per cent of its grades were an A* or an A.

Ursuline High School, in Wimbledon, sat one place higher than Coombe Girls’ in the comprehensive rankings.