A school in Hounslow has been praised by ministers after making the top 100 nationally in not one but three key measures of success.
St Mark's Catholic School is in the top 100 non-selective state-funded schools in England for the percentage of pupils achieving five or more A*-C GCSEs including English and maths.
The school in Bath Road, is also in the top 100 nationally for the value added score, which measures the improvement made by students, and in the top 90 when it comes to the 'sustained improvement' in the number of pupils achieving five or more good GCSEs including English and maths.
Schools ministers Nick Gibb and David Laws both wrote to headteacher Paul Enright to congratulate him on the school's success, which earned it £5,000 in the Pupil Premium Awards and the chance to compete for the top prize of £250,000.
Mr Laws wrote: "The reason you have been selected is that you are one of the highest achieving schools in the country in terms of the attainment and value-added progress of your disadvantaged pupils since 2011.
"It is clear that you and your staff have provided your disadvantaged pupils with a good start in life and prepared them well for their futures."
Last year, a school record 86% of pupils at St Mark's bagged five or more good GCSEs including English and maths - the joint highest rate in the borough, alongside Gunnersbury Catholic School, in Brentford.
Mr Enright said: "We're lucky the vast majority of our students want to do well and fulfil their ambitions using their God-given ability.
"There's a great sense of community at the school, with students helping one another and great parental support too.
"Two thirds of our pupils are from minority ethnic backgrounds and we believe that diversity helps build the sense of community here."
Mr Enright added that the school always treats students as individuals, setting them personalised targets and helping them to achieve those goals.
He praised staff for going the extra mile by running homework classes and after-school clubs, and even giving up their holidays to hold refresher courses during the Easter break.
