Champion gymnast who balanced practice with study and twins among Merseyside’s star GCSE performers
A STUDENT proved that studying hard and meeting a demanding training schedule is possible.
Frank Baines, is a pupil from Crosby’s Merchant Taylors’ Boys’ School and European Gymnast Champion.
And Frank, who has been selected for the 2016 Olympic Squad, achieved A* grades in physics, chemistry, biology and maths along with As in English and PE.
The Crosby teenager said: “Balancing up to 30 hours a week training with school life has been hard work but worthwhile after seeing my grades this morning”.
Meanwhile twins Alastair and Ruth Cawdron had a double GCSE success after the bagging an astounding 23 A*/A grades between them.
The pair from Blundellsands were among student success stories across Merseyside and now aim to repeat the exam success in their A-levels.
Alastair got seven A*s and five As whilst Ruth got six A*s and five As from St Mary’s College in Crosby.
But they were not the only triumphant twins.
Four sets of female twins between them managed 30 A* - A grades and 66 passes at GCSE from St Edward’s College in Sandfield Park, West Derby.
Caitlin and Sarah Mitchell, Alexandra and Melissa McAllister, Alexandria and Georgina Banks and Alexandra and Faye Randles all achieved at least seven A* - C grades.
Twin brothers Dan and Sam Lloyd, 15, who are affected by Duchenne muscular dystrophy, a rare disease which affects just 1 in 3,500 boys in the UK, were among high flying pupils at The Mosslands School, Wallasey.
The talented two from Wallasey used modified electric wheelchairs to help get around the buildings and the school was willing to adapt the building’s facilities to fit the boys’ needs.
This included developing disabled toilets in three areas of the school, providing lift access, height adjustable tables and a lowered cooking area in food technology .
While the school’s PE provision included using the Nintendo Wii for sports games and wheelchair height table tennis.
And the extra support helped them achieve excellent results, chalking up 19 GCSEs, eight at A* to C grade, between them.
Students overcoming the language barrier included Carmen Lo who arrived from Hong Kong a year ago speaking no English.
But she was among Bebington High School pupils thriving, managing four A*s, and an A,B and a C.
Other overseas inspirations included Saha Iftikhar, 16, from Kensington.
She only moved to England nine months ago from Pakistan.
But Saha, who started at Kensington’s St Francis of Assisi in December managed seven GCSEs A* to C, including English and an A* in RE.