How 'Britain's strictest head' is proving her critics wrong: As her school gets top GSCE results again, Katharine Birbalsingh on the dangers of 'gentle parenting' - and why Labour will 'obliterate standards'

By ELEANOR HARDING, EDUCATION EDITOR and JULIE HENRY and ANTONIO JARNE CUBERO, DATA JOURNALIST Published: 00:01, 21 August 2026 | Updated: 00:09, 21 August 2026 Britain's strictest head mistress has proved her critics wrong yet again with top GCSE results to rival Eton despite serving one of the capital's most deprived areas. Katharine Birbalsingh, head of Michaela Community School in Brent, north London, is celebrating more than 50 per cent of her entries being grade 9 – ten times the national average of 5 per cent. In addition, 82 per cent of all grades were at least a 7 – the equivalent of the old A – compared with around 22 per cent nationwide. In an exclusive interview with the Daily Mail, she said: 'I'm delighted. The teamwork at Michaela between the teachers and the kids, and the love that the staff have for the children, is what pulls them through.  'It means the kids are able to really hit their potential in ways that people wouldn't possibly imagine.  'Every year I'm astonished by how well we do. It seems so unbelievable, for example, that it's possible to get 50 per cent grade 9s. I feel really proud to be leading a school which is able to demonstrate what's possible in the inner city.'   Eton College, in Windsor, has not published its results today, but in 2025 61.9 per cent of its grades were 9, and 94 per cent were at least a 7.  The fact that Michaela's results are not far behind is all the more remarkable because, unlike Eton, it has no entrance exam and has a completely 'comprehensive', mixed ability intake. Britain's strictest head mistress has proved her critics wrong yet again with top GCSE results to rival Eton despite serving one of the capital's most deprived areas (pictured: Katharine Birbalsingh) Katharine Birbalsingh, head of Michaela Community School in Brent, North London, (pictured) is celebrating more than 50 per cent of her entries being grade 9 – ten times the national average of 5 per cent Some 82 per cent of Michaela entries got at least a grade 7 - the equivalent of the old A - compared with around 22 per cent nationwide (pictured: a pupil receives her results at Michaela) A pupil at Michaela reacts as she opens her results envelope A pupil at Michaela reacts as she opens her results envelope And while Eton, which has educated 20 British Prime Ministers as well as Princes William and Harry, charges fees of more than £65,000 per year, Michaela receives just over a tenth of this from the Government for each child.  Ms Birbalsingh added: 'Our results are certainly in the range of private schools. Even though we have no trees and no grass, no fields. We have no sports hall. We don't even have a car park. 'But rather than concentrating on what we don't have, or each child thinking about the boys at Eton having it better, we think, 'how can I make the most of what I've got'. 'The whole school is emblematic of that and for the kids that idea is rooted in their souls.' Ms Birbalsingh spoke as hundreds of thousands of pupils across the UK collected their GCSE results this morning, with England giving grades on the 9-1 scale and Wales and Northern Ireland retaining the old A*-G system. Among her other results are more than four-fifths of pupils achieving at least one grade 9, and nearly one-fifth achieving eight or more grade 9s. Meanwhile, 99 per cent of all GCSE grades were 4 to 9, and 98 per cent were 5 to 9. Ms Birbalsingh, 53, earned her moniker of 'Britain's strictest head mistress' because of her focus on discipline, uniform and core academic subjects. Ms Birbalsingh congratulated her pupils on X this morning However, despite routinely delivering fantastic results, she has been a target for criticism from the Left for her traditional, 'no excuses' approach. Speaking to the Daily Mail, she revealed A-level and GCSE results day is when she gets the most 'hate' on social media, mostly from teachers at other schools. 'Every year in August, they go mad attacking us,' she said. 'It's when our results come out that we get the most hate.' Last week, on A-level results day, Ms Birbalsingh posted her results on X along with some videos of her pupils opening their envelopes. 'Their problem last week was that I was celebrating,' she said. 'How dare I celebrate? It's just insane. I put out a few videos saying, 'Hooray, these kids have got these results. Isn't it nice.' 'They'd say I was crowing. But ultimately, it's rooted in the fact that I'm very vocal about the fact that I think traditionalism works, that I think children need to be held to account, that I believe in strong discipline, I believe in the adult being the authority in the room. 'They don't like that. And so, when we do well, and it sort of proves that traditionalism works, they don't like it.' It's not a new phenomenon for Ms Birbalsingh, who has battled critics ever since she set up Michaela, an academy, in 2014 under the then Tory Government's free schools programme. A Michaela pupil celebrates his results A Michaela pupil reacts as she opens her envelope Two friends at Michaela celebrate their results A pupil receives a hug for top results The Oxford graduate, who was born in New Zealand and grew up in Canada, taught in tough inner London schools and became disillusioned with the education system. She came to public attention at the Tory party conference in 2010 when she hit out at the low standards in Britain's schools – causing her to fall out of favour with her own boss at the time. Asked how it has felt facing down constant criticism over the years, she said: 'Well, it's not nice. Obviously, one doesn't like being hated. 'Especially when all I'm doing is trying to show people what works. 'But we get 1,000 [teacher] visitors every year. So it's not the case that all teachers are like this. 'I have to say, the majority of teachers quietly come and visit us and learn from what we do and take those ideas back to their classrooms. And good for them. 'But there are just some very loud teachers on X who are just constantly criticizing.' Ms Birbalsingh pointed out that her core principles would not have been considered controversial 40 years ago – but in recent decades they have fallen out of fashion. Michaela's results are not far behind Eton College (pictured), despite having a completely comprehensive, mixed ability intake. Pictured: Ms Birbalsingh addressing the Tory party conference in 2010 How can parents use the 'Michaela way' to help their own children?  'They need to be reading every day,' Ms Birbalsingh says. 'Reading is a superpower, and kids need to read loads. 'And get them off the screens. Do not give your child a smartphone.  'If they're young, you want to be counting loads, by twos and threes and fours and so on. Peas on the plate, cars in the street, and all that kind of thing.  'If they're older, you just need a schedule, and they need to make sure that they're working every single day. 'This idea that you only do the homework that the school has set you - absolutely not.  'You need to go and get those extra CGP guides from the book shop and do extra work.  'Set your child extra work to get prepared for those GCSEs. Don't just rely on the school.' These 'small 'c' conservative values' include 'taking personal responsibility', 'duty towards others', 'sacrificing what's important to you for the sake of the whole', and 'being part of a team'. She added: 'Young people these days are encouraged to embrace a sense of victimhood and to see themselves as oppressed by various powers, and as a member of a particular victim group. 'We reject all of that wholesale and very much believe in jumping over the obstacles that are in front of us. We're not constantly comparing ourselves to those who have more than us. 'And I think that that attitude of taking personal responsibility means that, in the end we're more likely to succeed because there's a real positivity and an energy in the school that propels us forwards.' Her views are at odds with those of the new Education Secretary Lucy Powell, who said earlier in the summer that forcing schools to focus too narrowly on academic achievement was failing disadvantaged pupils. Ms Birbalsingh said it looked like the new minister wants to 'utterly destroy' the reforms of the previous Tory governments, which introduced tougher standards in these areas. 'Standards will be completely obliterated, and English, maths, and science will fall out the window,' she said. '[Ms Powell] feels bad for the kids who aren't getting English, maths, and science, and so she, without much knowledge of the education system and what will realistically happen on the ground, thinks, 'Oh, this will make things better'. 'It will only make things worse. Her ideas have already been demonstrated in the past to fail. 'And it's not the kids at Eton who will stop getting their English, maths, and science, is it? It's the kids in the inner city and in the coastal towns. 'We need to be increasing the number of kids who get these subjects, not decreasing it.' Michaela has a 'normal Brent intake' due to entry being by council lottery, with most of the sixth form made up of students coming through from the younger years. Some are those who did not get into the two local grammar schools, Henrietta Barnett and Queen Elizabeth's – also known as QE Boys. When they arrive, they do a seven-day behaviour 'boot camp'. 'People think that strict means mean, but it doesn't,' the head added. 'It means that I love them enough to keep my standards high for them.' She believes that 'gentle parenting' is responsible for many of today's problems among the young, with some families reluctant to enact consequences for poor behaviour. 'We talk about Gen Z not being able to take responsibility, being snowflakey, being worried about their feelings all the time, she said. 'That is, I think, a direct result of gentle parenting, because they're not told you need to take responsibility for whatever choices you've made.  'There's a reason why children are suffering from mental health issues. They don't feel happy. They're not able to take control of their lives and take personal responsibility. They need to be trained with praise and punishment when they're young.' And for those GCSE pupils who do not do as well as they had hoped today, Ms Birbalsingh had some characteristically no-nonsense advice.  'Yeah, well, you know, sometimes we fall down,' she said. 'Pick yourselves up. Keep on going.' Responding to her comments about Ms Powell, a Department for Education spokesman said: 'It is ridiculous to suggest this government wants anything other than excellence for every child in English, maths and science. 'But forcing every young person down the same narrow academic route is leaving far too many out in the cold. 'Every child should leave education with a passport to their future — high-quality options, academic, technical, creative or a mix, and the chance to follow the path that is right for them.' Katharine Birbalsingh's new podcast, Strictly Education, went live yesterday on YouTube.