A new headteacher has spoken of her “delight” at taking over the reins at a sixth form college.

Leyton Sixth Form College is welcoming Gill Burbridge as its new principal starting this September.

Ms Burbridge was the deputy principal at the college under Kevin Watson, who led the school to three successive ‘Good’ Ofsted reports in nine years.

Before moving to east London, she was the assistant vice principal at Central Sussex College, in Crawley, where she taught English Literature, Drama and Theatre Studies and Communication and Culture.

Her summer at the college has already got off to a good start as she celebrated the college achieving a 99 per cent pass rate at A-Level last week.

Over half of students achieved top A*, A and B grades or the vocational equivalent, with an increase of 22 per cent for those gaining the very highest grades.

Ms Burbridge said she was “delighted” to be the new principal of such a “highly achieving” and “inclusive” school.

She added: “The values which underpin the college’s mission statement are very important to me.

“I look forward to working with staff, students and governors, as well as with external partners and the local community, to ensure that we retain our unwavering focus on providing a high quality, enriching and empowering educational experience.

“My priority is to ensure that LSC plays an expanding role in the local community, first and foremost through the excellent education that we provide to the young people in and around east London.”