Our Lady’s Convent High School student diagnosed with leukaemia last year ago bags stellar GCSE results

Our Lady's Convent High School student Jennifer Kwafo receiving her GCSE results. (Image: Archant)

Hazel Boadu-Antwi – who is in remission now, but has spent most of the last six months in hospital – made the trip to Our Lady’s Convent High School this morning where she picked up two As, one B and three Cs.

The teenager’s aunty and mum were crying when she told them her results over the phone, after what has been an understandably hard year for her family.

She said: “All I remember is seeing my friends being productive in their studies, and it felt so frustrating to not have the energy to revise.

“I knew that as soon as I was out of hospital I would dedicate my time to revising and achieving amazing results.”

Our Lady's Convent High School student Shannon Smith with her GCSE results. (Image: Archant)

Hazel is staying on at Our Lady’s sixth form and will be studying health & social care and sociology, while in the short-term she will be celebrating with her friends by going to Thorpe Park.

A spokesman for the school said: “We are so proud of all that Hazel has been through, and feel so happy that Hazel is healthy enough to enjoy her fantastic results.”

Another success story on a high-spirited day at Our Lady’s was Shannon Smith, whose three 9 grades in maths, English literature and English language under the new grading system – which sees 9 as an A* – have placed her in the top performing 2,000 students in the country the trio of core disciplines.

Overall 92 per cent of students achieved 9 to 4 grades – the equivalent of A* to C – in English.

Headteacher Justine McDonald added: “It is so great to see the hard work and dedication of these girls pay off. They can all look forward to incredibly bright futures, with many staying on here to study for their sixth form subjects.”