Sunderland schoolgirl’s medical dream as students collect GCSE results

St Anthony’s Catholic Academy pupil Navami Jayan will be staying on to study Spanish, Maths, Chemistry and Biology at A-level after securing nine grade 9s and two 8s today, Thursday, August 12, with a view to studying medicine at unversity with the aim of becoming a dermatologist.

"I had eczema when I was little and seeing the doctors help me made me want to help other people,” she said.

Classmates Jean Hedley and Hrishita Mahamuni both secured grade 9s across the board.

“I just feel shocked. I was not expecting that at all,” said Jean, from Tunstall, who got 11 grade 9s and will study maths, further maths, physics and chemistry.

Proud mum Marie said: “I am so proud – she has worked so hard.”

Hrishita said she had been confident she would do well, but not that well: “I have worked hard but I never expected to get straight 9s,” she said.

"I am going to study maths, chemistry and biology at A-level and after that, I want to study medicine and hopefully specialise in neurosurgery.”

Molly L Jackson and Hannah Dinning were among the first students to open their results.

Molly secured a 7, three 6s, five 5s and a 4: “I did better than I expected, to be fair,” she said.

"I thought I had failed a couple of them.”

She is staying on to do media, sociology and business.

Hannah earned three 7s and six 6s: "I feel very overwhelmed,” she said.

"It is not what I expected – it is a lot better.”

She will be studying business, sociology, philosophy and theology at A-level.

Friends Isobel Hair and Kate Graham were delighted with their results.

Isobel, with two 9s, five 8s, three 7s and one 6, said the results gave her more options than she had expected: “I don’t know what to do next – I have got to speak to my mum and dad and see what happens.”

Kate will study Spanish, French and English literature after securing four 9s, four 8s, a seven and a 6: “I was expecting it to be a lot lower,” she said.

Pals Louise Callan, Anna Foster and Emelia Fishburn-Parker opened their results together.

Louise secured five 8s, two 7s and three 6s and will study English language and literature and psychology: “It’s really good, it’s better than I expected,” she said.

Anna earned two 9s, seven 8s and two 7s: “Some of them are better than I thought I was going to get but then I am quite pessimistic.”

She will study English language, classics and politics.

With two 9s, three 8s, five 7s and a 6, Emelia will take biology, chemistry, maths and further maths: “It has definitely gone better than I expected,” she said.

“I convinced myself this morning I was not going to pass.”

Head Monica Shepherd paid tribute to the hard work of her students during the coronavirus pandemic: “Some of them have loved it but others have found it very isolating,” she said.

"They have not seen their friends, they have seen their teachers through Zoom, and it is not the same.

"But they have done really well.”

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