Tommy Brown had resigned himself to a job with little prospects but is now off to do film and media production at college after bagging five GCSEs.
Of the 1,116 exams sat by 115 students, 341 (30.5%) were awarded the top grade of 9 and 640 (57.3%) were graded 9 or 8.
The news was revealed as 236 boys and girls at the Bishop's Stortford secondary received their GCSE results on Thursday.
"Removal of exam season robbed them of their chance to show what they were capable of, but the results paint an accurate picture."
Eleanor Hewins, Emma Troman, Cai Chappel, Lucy Groves, Harriet Dunne, Nicholas Petkov, Claudia Pettengell, Maisie Fraser and Leila Trusty shine.
New state-of-the-art accommodation is waiting for the students when they join the sixth-form in September
Head Chris Townsend said: “I look forward to seeing what they can go on to achieve in the coming years."
Head Polly Lankester said: "They have shown such resilience and determination throughout this very difficult time and we are very proud of them all."
Charlotte Cavanagh achieved a clean sweep of the top grade in her 10 subjects while sister Louise achieved nine 9s and an eight.
Head Malcolm White praised the Sawbridgeworth secondary's students for their maturity and pragmatism in light of their Covid-19 experiences.
