There were double celebrations at Strood Academy this summer as exam grades continued to rise and a government warning over results was withdrawn.

The school was told in October 2014 that it needed to tackle “unacceptably low” results but after a “significant increase”, this has now been revoked.

Principal Kim Gunn said: “We had one set of not particularly great results but since then we worked very hard, no stone unturned, and put into place a really robust improvement plan for Year 11 to support them.

“There’s no secret to it, we’ve all worked really hard and we have used good practices where we know they exist.”

She said the school’s results this year had been “absolutely outstanding” with the sixth form achieving a 99% pass rate with 78% of grades at A* to C.

And in Year 11, 44% of pupils gained five A* to C grades in their GCSEs, including English and maths.

Mrs Gunn added: “Our students have been able to go on and take up their university places or move on to sixth form, or apprenticeships.

“What’s been really pleasing, where the girls are making progress, the boys are catching them up. It just shows that the boys and girls of Strood are making significant progress and working hard to improve their life chances.”

She said the improvements in results match a rise in attendance rates.

Mrs Gunn became principal in January 2013 but has worked at the Carnation Road school since it opened in 2009, and said it’s wonderful to see how far the school has come.

Strood Academy was formed by the merger of Chapter Girls and Temple Boys, which had been the worst school in the country in the years before the merger.

In 2014, just 30% of pupils had achieved five A* to C grades including English and maths, which was “well below expected standards”.

The pre-warning notice from Dominic Herrington, the regional schools commissioner for the South East, said the Department for Education would be appointing additional governors if things did not improve.

After withdrawing the warning in August, Mr Herrington said he will continue to monitor performance at the academy.