A-levels are always hard. They can be even more of a challenge, however, when you have been left unable to write because of a brain tumour; when you have regular commitments to your clog-dancing club; or if have just found yourself elected as the UK’s youngest mayor. Here’s a round-up some of the most unique success stories this year.
Sisters see double
Two sisters have received identical A-level results in the same subjects one year apart.
Leenah Abuelgasim achieved A* grades in biology, chemistry and maths, and A grades in Greek and general studies – just as her older sister Hiba did 12 months earlier.
Leenah said the pair could not believe it when they saw their matching results. Her sister added: “I’m sure Sigmund Freud would say there was probably something in all that.”
Both studied at Birmingham’s King Edward VI high school for girls, and Leenah will follow her sibling to study medicine at the University of Oxford.
But the two differ in one respect: their choice of specialism. While Hiba wants to work in cardiology and possibly psychology, Leenah hopes to pursue radiology and diagnostic imaging.
Travelling a new path
Traveller Stephanie Bagnall will become the first member of her family to go to university, stepping away from a multigeneration tradition of working at funfairs.
The 18-year-old spent the majority of her life travelling in a caravan and working at funfairs, until she won a scholarship to study at the independent Wycliffe College in Stonehouse, Gloucestershire, two years ago. She achieved an A* in English literature, B in drama and C in business studies at A-level.
Stephanie found out about her results in Spain where she is visiting a friend. “My life has changed so much,” she said. “It’s just amazing that I now have friends across the globe when just two years ago I only knew people in Gloucester. I feel like a much more complete person.”
She will be reading English and theatre studies at Royal Holloway, University of London.
Brain power
Six years ago, Lauren Pratt had a 10-hour operation to remove a tumour from her brain and was left unable to write.
Now she has set her sights on the University of Cambridge after receiving A* A-level grades in business studies, English language and media studies at the John Cabot academy in Kingswood, South Gloucestershire.
The 18-year-old, who used a wheelchair while she recovered from surgery and had to use a laptop during her exams, was shocked by her clean sweep of top grades.
“I just cannot believe it,” she said. “I had to double check my results in case my eyes were deceiving me and it was all a mirage. It hasn’t sunk in yet.”
She will fly to China on Friday to begin her gap year, which will involve teaching English for five months before traveling around Asia. “I am going to come back and do a linguistics degree at university,” she said. “I think I will apply to Cambridge. We’ll see what happens.”
A hop, a skip and a jump to success
Robyn Wallace is adding impressive A-level results to some idiosyncratic extracurricular achievements.
The 17-year-old, from near Rochdale, got an A in maths, and Bs in chemistry and physics. She has already won a prize for her percussion at the European Brass Band Championships and set up a 50-member clog-dancing club.
She said: “When I first started dancing at about 12, I was the youngest. Now we have people aged eight up to in their 60s, although it is mostly older people. We practise once a week in a pub, so I made sure I had time to revise for my A-level exams around that.”
As she prepares to study physics at the University of Sheffield, she hopes to keep up her unusual hobby.
“There aren’t any clubs set up around there because clog dancing seems to be a Lancashire thing,” she said. “I might have to take the initiative myself.”
Making up for lost time
Health problems forced Fabienne Zigrit to miss a chunk of her A-level lessons.
The 18-year-old took five months off with kidney trouble – yet she still managed to secure an A* in geography, a B in physics and an A in the Welsh baccalaureate.
Fabienne, who studied at Cardiff high school, told WalesOnline: “My kidney destroyed itself after it got obstructed and I was in hospital for months.”
She spent three months in hospital last year, and was out of school for a further two months this year while she recovered from an operation in February.
Fabienne said: “I’m over the moon. I checked this morning and I cried for a good half hour. I told my parents and they were as happy as I was.”
She has won a place to study geography at Cardiff University.
UK’s youngest mayor heads to Hull
Most A-level students will be out partying after their results, but Terence Smith, the UK’s youngest mayor, planned to spend his evening at a council planning meeting.
The 19-year-old became mayor of Goole, east Yorkshire, in May, just one week before his first exam. He has now been accepted to study sociology at Hull after getting C grades in media studies and film studies, a U in law and a D in AS-level sociology.
“It’s been a busy year really with me becoming mayor and also with a busy referendum campaign,” Smith, who has dyslexia, said. “Exams have always been challenging so really to have got what I’ve got is fantastic.”
He said he did not mind spending the evening in a council meeting. “I was elected for four years [as a councillor] and I will serve those four years with pleasure. I’ve got plenty of time to go out partying.”
