Thomas Telford School has no bell and there is no hourly stampede between classrooms. Instead its pupils have only three lessons. There is just one catch - the school day starts at 8.30am and does not end until 6pm.

Children concentrate for hours on end, rather than chopping and changing between subjects and trekking from one part of the school to another.

Such tactics, and the exacting expectations of the head teacher, Sir Kevin Satchwell, have made Thomas Telford the leading comprehensive school in England.

Ninety-nine per cent of its pupils taking GCSEs last summer achieved at least five A* to C grades, including English and maths – which is considered the minimum standard required to get a job or progress to further education. In science, 100 per cent were awarded at least two good GCSEs.

Two fifths of the school’s pupils are from a catchment area in Wolverhampton and have to make a 40-mile round trip to the school in Shropshire. But they – and the rest of the pupils, who are from Telford – are the lucky ones who managed to enrol at a school where seven children chase each place.

Thomas Telford, which opened in 1991, is one of a handful of city technology colleges (CTCs) in England, which gives it more freedom than normal comprehensives. But while some CTCs concentrate on vocational courses, Thomas Telford achieves GCSE results better than many independent and grammar schools.

Sir Kevin was knighted in 2001 for services to education, when he said: “Chaps like me, who come from a working-class background, one of seven kids, you don’t think things like this are ever going to happen to you.”

Yet he has been the author of a radical set of changes to traditional school practice and, despite this year’s 99 per cent success rate, believes there is still room for improvement.

Sir Kevin said: “The staff and children have worked incredibly hard, and there’s been good support from the parents. Now we’re chasing that elusive 1 per cent, to take us up to 100 per cent of pupils achieving five GCSEs at A* to C including English and maths.”

The school’s 1,250 pupils receive feedback from an early age. Parents, who have to sign a charter agreeing to the school’s ethos, are given updates on their child’s progress every few weeks, rather than at the usual annual parents’ evening.

Children are expected to be punctual, polite, well dressed, and involved in the school’s extracurricular activities. In return they can talk to the head at any time.

The star student of the week is named on the school’s website, with many chosen for sporting prowess or community work. Sir Kevin said: “We want them to share their talents. It’s not taboo to be successful here.” Creative timetabling had allowed students to work without interruption or the need to change workplace, he added.

Lessons are from 8.30am to 11.50am with a 20-minute breakfast break, from 12.15pm to 4pm with a 40-minute lunch break, and from 4pm until 6pm with a 15-minute break. The last session is often used for sport or music, unless pupils are studying for exams.

Parents are asked ten times a year if they are satisfied with the standard of work, and if they would like an appointment with the personal tutor.

Under Sir Kevin’s command the school began selling customised courses to other schools and colleges. This has raised £15 million in the past eight years, money that Thomas Telford has used to be the main sponsor of three new neighbouring academies.

He said: “We’re interested in spreading the Telford method. It’s been a marvellous opportunity for staff and students. We’ve had students working together from different schools and staff moving between schools.”

One of these academies, Madeley, was near the top of last year’s national table for contextual value added, which measures the progress pupils make between primary and secondary school and is adjusted for variables including their race, gender and poverty.

The top school in this category was Park Community School in Havant, Hampshire. It is on a large council estate where more than a third of parents have no formal qualifications. A quarter of children are on free school meals and more than half have a special educational need.

In 1997 the school was in special measures, with less than 10 per cent of pupils achieving five good GCSEs. Now 85 per cent reach this level, although the figure is 32 per cent if English and maths are included as many of the teenagers take vocational courses.

Bob Carter, the deputy head teacher, said: “We’ve worked very hard in raising the expectations and confidence of children. We have loyal staff who have been here a long time and put the children first, often before their own families and home life.”

An Islamic state school, Tauheedul Islam Girls’ High School in Blackburn, Lancashire, was the third highest-achieving comprehensive in the country, with 97 per cent of pupils attaining five good GCSEs including English and maths.

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