21st September 2011 9:00
By Blue Tutors
The BBC have published some uplifting stories about students receiving their A Level results, including an Olympic Athlete, and a teenage mum. Here are the stories:
Jenn Pitt in Cleveland got an A and two Bs in A Level Law, English and Drama, and is now going to York University to study a Law degree. This is fairly remarkable for a girl who has been homeless for a large part of her A Levels. Jenn was thrown out of her family home after disagreements with her father over her social life, and has relied on friends and support housing for somewhere to sleep each night. When asked how she was able to remain dedicated to her studies, she said it was the only consistent thing in her life, and she didn’t want to lose that.
Amy Qureshi lives in Bristol and is 21. She has just added an A in English Literature to an A and a B in A Level English and Photography, and has won a place to study English Literature at the University of the West of England. When Amy was just 17, she gave birth to a daughter Daisy, and has supported their small family independently since. Amy said about her daughter: “I want her to see that you can make something of your life even if things don’t go exactly the way you planned”.
Daniel Holt in Manchester has cerebral palsy, and as such has limited movement in his hands, so his college provided him with a scribe during his exams. He got an A* and two As in A Level in Psychology, Law and English Language, and is going to Queen Mary University this autumn to study a Law degree. Daniel says he became interested in Law after watching television programmes about the subject, and puts his success down to being incredibly focussed on achieving his goal to become a barrister.
Tom Daley is better known for his diving exploits than academia, but at only 17 he has got his first A Level grade. Tom achieved an A* in A Level Photography, and got module results for AS Level Maths and Spanish, both of which he will sit the final exams for next summer. Obviously it makes sense for Tom to complete as much of his courses as possible now, because he’s likely to be very busy in the build up to the Olympics in 2012.